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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Vice President J.D. Vance is set to begin an international trip to Italy and India, marking his third such journey with the Trump administration. The visit aims to discuss economic and geopolitical priorities with leaders in both nations.
👥 Who’s Involved: Vice President J.D. Vance, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and members of the Second Family are involved.
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📍 Where & When: The trip will take place starting Friday, with visits to Rome, New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra.
💬 Key Quote: A statement from Vance’s office noted the intent to “discuss shared economic and geopolitical priorities.”
⚠️ Impact: The trip coincides with ongoing international interest in negotiating trade deals with the U.S. following the Trump administration’s tariff announcements, highlighting tensions over trade issues.
IN FULL:
Vice President J.D. Vance is preparing to embark on his third major international trip on Friday, heading to Italy and India, where he will meet with national political leaders to discuss critical U.S. economic and geopolitical priorities. While in Rome, Italy, the U.S. Vice President is scheduled to sit down with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Notably, the Vatican is considered a key communication channel in diplomatic circles. Its ambassadors typically have long tenures representing the Holy See in their host countries, allowing for significant political relationships to be forged.
After Italy, Vance will travel to three cities in India: New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. While in the South Asian nation, Vance is scheduled to meet with the country’s nationalist Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The Vice President’s office announced that the Second Family would also partake in cultural engagements at yet-to-be-specified sites.
The announcement of Vance’s travels comes amid significant global interest in negotiating trade agreements with the United States. This follows President Donald J. Trump’s April 2 imposition of a 10 percent global tariff and reciprocal tariffs targeting several nations and the European Union (EU), of which Italy is a member state. The bloc was hit with a 20 percent tariff, while Indian goods saw a 26 percent tariff. Subsequently, as countries moved to open trade talks with the U.S., President Trump declared a 90-day pause in the reciprocal tariffs on April 9, leaving only a 10 percent global tariff for everyone but China.
Prior to the meeting with Vance, Italy’s Meloni will be in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to open trade negotiations with President Trump and his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent.
Vance has emerged as a key international representative of the Trump administration, having previously traveled to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, where he urged European nations to enhance their defense contributions and uphold free speech, and to Greenland’s Pituffik Space Base, for defense reviews and to reiterate American’s continued interest acquiring the Arctic island from Denmark.
PULSE POINTS:
What Happened: The Trump-led EPA has launched an investigation into Make Sunsets, a solar geoengineering startup, for releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, prompting concerns about air quality violations under the Clean Air Act.
Who’s Involved: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Make Sunsets founders Luke Iseman and Andrew Song, and the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.
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Where & When: EPA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., April 14, 2025, with a public statement from Zeldin on April 15, 2025.
Key Quote: EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin stated on X, “Make Sunsets is a startup that is geoengineering by injecting sulfur dioxide into the sky and then selling ‘cooling credits.’ This company is polluting the air we breathe.”
Impact: The EPA’s actions could lead to monetary penalties or criminal charges for Make Sunsets, potentially setting a precedent for regulating geoengineering activities in the U.S., amidst broader Trump administration efforts to deregulate climate policies.
IN FULL:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump’s Administrator Lee Zeldin, has initiated what it says will be a swift investigation into Make Sunsets, a startup accused of polluting the atmosphere through geoengineering. On April 14, 2025, the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation issued a letter to Make Sunsets founders Luke Iseman and Andrew Song, demanding information within 30 days to determine if the company’s activities violate the Clean Air Act.
Make Sunsets has been releasing sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere via weather balloons, aiming to reflect sunlight and cool the planet—selling these balloon flights online in the form of so-called “cooling credits.” The Trump administration is acting against the startup due to its potential to degrade air quality, coupled with a lack of regulatory oversight.
Zeldin took to X (formerly Twitter) on April 15, 2025, to explain the situation, stating, “Make Sunsets is a startup that is geoengineering by injecting sulfur dioxide into the sky and then selling ‘cooling credits.’ This company is polluting the air we breathe. I’ve instructed my team that we need to quickly get to the bottom of this.”
The EPA’s letter, signed by Abigale Tardif, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation, cites Section 114(a) of the Clean Air Act, which empowers the agency to demand information from entities suspected of impacting air quality. It warns of potential enforcement actions under Section 113 of the Act, which includes fines and criminal penalties for non-compliance or providing false information.
On behalf of Make Sunsets, Iseman previously argued, “It’s morally wrong… for us not to be doing this.” However, the company has already been banned in Mexico following unauthorized sulfur dioxide releases in Baja California in 2022. Notably, this prompted the Mexican government to prohibit solar geoengineering experiments altogether in 2023.
Make Sunsets later conducted launches in Nevada, which also drew scrutiny for failing to report to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) despite requirements under U.S. law. Critics, including environmentalists and scientists, have long warned that such geoengineering efforts lack sufficient scientific backing and international governance, posing unpredictable risks to the environment and public health.
The investigation into Make Sunsets could set a significant precedent for regulating geoengineering in the U.S., a field that remains largely ungoverned both domestically and internationally.
READ:
Make Sunsets is a startup that is geoengineering by injecting sulfur dioxide into the sky and then selling “cooling credits.” This company is polluting the air we breathe. I’ve instructed my team that we need to quickly get to the bottom of this and take immediate action. pic.twitter.com/9b6xPzMf4v
— Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) April 15, 2025
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President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at slashing prescription drug costs—with insulin reduced to three cents for low-income Americans.
The details: Trump’s order takes aim at drug costs and Big Pharma from several angles:
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- Insulin: Prices drop to as low as three cents for low-income and uninsured patients.
- Epinephrine: Injectable doses fall to $15.
- Cancer drugs: Standardizing Medicare payments for prescription drugs, like cancer treatments, which can lower prices by 60 percent.
- Generics: Boosted access to biosimilars, which can be up to 80 percent cheaper.
- Middlemen: Order demands transparency from pharmacy benefit managers and pushes reforms to the entire supply chain.
- Drug importation: States can import lower-cost meds, including for sickle cell.
Back up: In 2020, Trump launched a program to give seniors access to $35 per 30-day supply of insulin. Biden let the program expire and then rolled it into the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and took credit for it.
Eclipsing Biden: The IRA also created the Medicare Drug Pricing Negotiation Program, which allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly with pharma companies for high-cost prescription drugs.
- In its first year in effect under Biden, the program netted a 22 percent reduction in prices. Trump’s order aims to “eclipse” that number.
Big picture: Roughly 68 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare—meaning these reforms will touch roughly 20 percent of the U.S. population.
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President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order aimed at slashing prescription drug costs—with insulin reduced to three cents for low-income Americans. show more
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