The Headlines - Trump’s Flurry of Pardons, and Musk’s Goodbye

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

Plus, the rise of crypto kidnappings. On Today’s Episode: Trump Gives Clemency to More Than Two Dozen, Including Political Allies, by Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Luke BroadwaterTrump Tariffs Ruled Illegal by Federal Judicial Panel, by Tony Romm and Ana SwansonU.S. Will ‘Aggressively’ Revoke Visas of Chinese Students, Rubio Says, by Edward WongA Disillusioned Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He’s Exiting Washington, by Tyler Pager, Maggie Haberman, Theodore Schleifer, Jonathan Swan and Ryan MacFrench Crypto Chiefs Step Up Security After String of Violent Kidnappings, by Aurelien Breeden, Catherine Porter and Liz AldermanBruce Logan, Who Blew Up the Death Star in ‘Star Wars,’ Dies at 78, by Richard SandomirGreg Cannom, Who Made Brad Pitt Old and Marlon Wayans White, Dies at 73, by Alex TraubTune in every weekday morning. To get our full audio journalism and storytelling experience, download the New York Times Audio app — available to Times news subscribers on iOS — and sign up for our weekly newsletter.Tell us what you think at: [e-mail]. 

From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Thursday, May 29th. Here's what we're covering. I am ecstatic President Trump's order that I got states. I hereby designate, direct, and empower the Attorney General as my representative. President Trump has issued a flurry of pardons and commutations this week, granting clemency to more than two dozen people who had been convicted of a wide range of crimes, from

theft to murder to tax fraud. The president himself called me to let me know that my family was coming back together. Among the most high profile were pardons for real estate moguls Julie and Todd Chrisley, who starred in the reality TV show, Chrisley Knows Best. They'd been convicted of evading taxes and defrauding banks of more than $30 million to support their lavish lifestyle. Their daughter Savannah,

who celebrated their release from prison yesterday, had championed their case at the Republican National Convention last year, framing it as political persecution. I'll never forget what the prosecutor said before an Obama-appointed judge. He called us the Trumps of the South. The Chrisleys case underscores how Trump has redefined the presidential pardon power, turning it from a formal vetted process into a tool to reward his supporters and incentivize loyalty. One of Trump's advisors leading the pardon process posted this week, quote, no MAGA left

behind. The White House has not released a full list of its latest pardons, but the Times has identified a number of them, including a former Republican state senator from Arkansas who was convicted of accepting bribes and a major Republican donor from the 2016 campaign who violated lobbying and campaign finance laws. Also on the list, Larry Hoover, who used to run one of Chicago's most notorious gangs, the Gangster Disciples, which raked in more than $100 million a year in drug sales. Hoover had been sentenced to over 200 years in prison for murder, but after years of lobbying from his supporters,

including celebrities like Kanye West, his federal sentence is now commuted, though he's expected to remain in prison for the rest of his life, since he was also convicted at the state level. In another twist in President Trump's tariffs, many of which were rolled out only for the president to suspend them days later, a panel of federal judges has now ruled that some of them are illegal. The ruling applies to some of the steepest tariffs Trump issued,

including ones on China, Canada, and Mexico. To put them in place, Trump invoked an economic emergency law from the 1970s. He argued that the U.S. trade deficit is an emergency, giving him the power to act. That was a novel interpretation since the law doesn't even mention tariffs. Yesterday, the U.S. Court of International Trade said the surcharges, quote, exceed any authority granted to the president. It's not exactly clear if or when tariff collection will grind to a halt. The ruling gave the White House 10 days to comply. The Trump administration has already said it will appeal, and a White House spokesman

criticized the court, saying, quote, it is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency. Now two other quick updates on the Trump administration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last night that the administration will, quote, aggressively revoke the visas of Chinese students, including those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party or who are studying in what he called critical fields. The short announcement, with little detail, could upend the lives of some of the quarter million Chinese students in the U.S. They're the second largest international student group after India. Until now, family members of even the most high-ranking Chinese

Communist Party officials could attend American universities. The daughter of China's President Xi Jinping graduated from Harvard in 2014 under a pseudonym. And American universities have long benefited from enrolling Chinese students, both financially from their tuition, and at research laboratories where they've been able to recruit some of China's most talented students. Also, Elon Musk, who once called himself President Trump's first buddy, officially confirmed his time as a government employee is ending. For the first few months of Trump's term, Musk had so much influence with the president

that White House aides told the Times they felt he was basically holding the administration captive as he carried out a slash-and-burn campaign on federal programs. Eventually, though, complaints from lawmakers and cabinet members about Musk became too much for Trump to tune out, and the two have been operating at a distance. Musk has also faced backlash from the public, which hurt profits at his electric car company, Tesla. He said he'll now go back to focusing on his companies. As Musk announced his exit, he also took a swipe at Trump's signature domestic policy legislation.

I was like disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not decrease it. And that reminds the work that the Doge team is doing. In an interview with CBS, Musk bemoaned the fact that the bill will drive up government spending after he and his team were brought on to cut it. I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful. But I don't know if it can be bugged. My personal opinion.

When asked about Musk's criticism, Trump declined to respond directly. In France. Recently, two weeks ago, a young mother with her baby was on a street in the 11th Rondesmont, Paris, and a van squealed up a bunch of men in black with masks jumped out and tried to haul her into the van. It's the latest example of these brazen kidnapping attempts of people who are either related to crypto entrepreneurs or are themselves in the crypto world. My colleague Katherine Porter has been reporting on the recent string of kidnappings related

to cryptocurrency. Over the past six months, the attacks have grown brutal from the daylight attempt on the young mother to dousing a crypto influencer's father in gasoline and shoving him in a car trunk to kidnappers cutting off victims fingers, all to try and scare up million dollar ransoms. This is happening around the world, but there seems to have just been an explosion in France and why there's this explosion in France. Police are not fully clear yet.

They're still investigating. But from what we can tell, and some of the theories that have been put out, is that they believe the organizers of this are drug criminals that contract out younger men who are looking for quick money and are often in gangs to do their dirty work and do quick contract jobs. Catherine says officials think crypto heists are basically the new bank robberies, and

they're concerned that the digital nature of crypto makes it a prime target, since getting a password may seem easier than drilling into a vault. Some crypto experts, however, say that's a misconception. Crypto may have started as the digital wild West, but it's become increasingly secure. In one recent case where a ransom was paid, authorities were able to freeze and recover almost all of it. Meanwhile, in the U.S. this past week, police in New York arrested three people in connection with an alleged crypto kidnapping.

The victim was held and tortured for nearly three weeks in a Manhattan apartment in an attempt to get access to his bitcoin wallet before he managed to escape. And finally, The Times is remembering the lives of two master Hollywood craftsmen whose names you probably don't know, but whose work you've almost certainly seen. First, Bruce Logan, aka the man who blew up the Death Star in Star Wars, has died at 78. He was the special effects designer behind the iconic explosion, which he had to pull off before CGI was really a thing. Great shot, kid! That was one in a million! CGI was really a thing. Great shot, kid!

That was one in a million! To get the shot, Logan had to set off a series of mini homemade bombs, full of gasoline, titanium chips, and napalm. And I do remember kind of wiping some burning napalm off my arm after one of the explosions as I was walking away. Logan also worked on Tron, Airplane, and 2001, A Space Odyssey. And. Oh, I'm sorry to frighten you, dear.

I must look like a yeti in this getup. Greg Canham died earlier this month at 73. He's the Oscar-winning makeup artist who made Robin Williams into the white-haired, rosy-cheeked nanny, Mrs. Doubtfire, and transformed a whole generation of other stars. He gave Jim Carrey his freaky green face in the mask. Smokin'! He turned the Waynes brothers, two black actors,

into white chicks in White Chicks. You are a girl, and you better start acting like one or you're gonna be an unemployed girl. And in what Cannon described as the highlight of his career, How old are you? Seven. But I look a lot older. he reverse-aged Brad Pitt from an old man to a baby in the curious case of Benjamin Button. A lot of the movie magic Logan and Canham were able to pull off is now done with computers.

But they did it with foam, paint, silicone, and that touch of napalm. Those are the headlines. Today on The Daily, a look at how Harvard's battle with the Trump administration is escalating. That's next in the New York Times audio app where you can listen wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Tracy Mumford. We'll be back tomorrow.