The Lawsuits Just Keep Coming 4.26.25 Ally Sammarco Apr 26 Happy Saturday, readers! It’s the weekend, so no matter the chaos in the world, there’s a reason for celebration. Welcome back to Common Sense, your source for news and analysis on the circus that is American politics and entertainment. The Trump Administration’s surrender in his war on international students, explained… Politico reports, “It took more than 100 lawsuits and 50 restraining orders from dozens of federal judges. But after 20 days of court losses, the Trump administration capitulated, reversing a decision that threatened the legal status of thousands of foreign students in the United States. The Trump administration’s abrupt move, announced by a Justice Department lawyer in court Friday, tacitly acknowledged what judges in two dozen states had been saying since early April: Terminating university students’ immigration records from a federal database — a step which appeared to jeopardize their legal authorization to remain in the country — was almost certainly illegal. And it was implemented so ham-handedly that judges felt compelled to intervene.” Trump’s longform TIME interview, simplified… CNN has a 9-things rundown of Trump’s in-depth interview with TIME. “Trump sat for a wide-ranging interview with TIME on April 22, touching on tariffs, peace efforts between Ukraine and Russia, the Iran nuclear deal, wanting Canada to become a US state and more. The sitdown included Trump saying he would sign a ban on members of Congress trading stocks, that he doesn’t want to use ‘loopholes’ to run for a third term and that he has not asked El Salvador to return a mistakenly deported undocumented immigrant. He rejected the idea that he is expanding the powers of the presidency, saying he is using the office, ‘as it was meant to be used’ in his second term. ‘What I’m doing is exactly what I’ve campaigned on,’ he said.” Common Sense with Ally Sammarco is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his job, begging… NBC news reports, “Pete Hegseth wants Donald Trump to see him as a fighter amid the negative stories swirling around the defense secretary, two U.S. officials told NBC News, and has been focusing more on public and television appearances — including on his old network, Fox News — in which he can speak directly to the president. Trump had told Hegseth during a recent phone call that he did not approve of his texting information about airstrikes in Yemen to a Signal group that included Hegseth’s wife, his brother and his personal attorney, describing what the defense secretary had done as childish, one U.S. official and another person familiar with the conversation said. The call ended with Trump telling Hegseth to keep fighting, however. As he battles to keep his job amid a flood of reports about his behavior and infighting in his Pentagon, Hegseth’s behavior has become '‘erratic,’ and he seems increasingly ‘insecure’ about his job…” Donald Trump on the number of countries with which he has made trade deals, miscounting… Trump has made trade deals with 200 countries. But there are only 193 countries. Unless he’s counting the ‘countries’ that only have penguins. ABC News reports, “President Donald Trump, in a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine published Friday, claimed he's already "made 200 deals" on tariffs and said he's spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the cover story, in which Trump's discussed his first 100 days in office, the president was asked about White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s prediction of ‘90 deals in 90 days.’ ‘I’ve made 200 deals,’ Trump said. When asked to confirm that number, Trump said ‘100%.’” LOL. Today’s Furry Friend Dallas Cowboys defensive end Solomon Thomas trains Banksy to get drafted into a forever home… Today’s Buzz Another lion, witch, and wardrobe movie? YES PLEASE! The Hollywood Reporter writes, “The White Witch has been found. British actress Emma Mackey has nabbed the coveted role of the evil spellcaster in Narnia, Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia fantasy novels. Netflix is backing the adaptation of the books, with Gerwig’s feature reportedly tackling the sixth novel of the series, The Magician’s Nephew. Gerwig wrote the script and is directing. The casting marks a reunion between Gerwig and Mackey; the latter appeared in the filmmaker’s billion dollar grossing Barbie… In a rare move for Netflix, the streamer is giving Narnia a two-week theatrical Imax run in late 2026, something Gerwig fought for.” Thank you for reading and enjoy your weekend! Check back in on Monday for the next edition of Common Sense. Common Sense with Ally Sammarco is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.