Friday morning news: April 11, 2025

GOP budget framework » Republicans are one step closer to passing a bill addressing President Trump’s top priorities.

AUDIO: On this vote, that yeas are 216. They nays are 214. The motion is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

House Republicans on Thursday passed a budget framework, a sort of a blueprint for a massive bill to come later. And the president told reporters:

TRUMP:  We're well on our way to getting, as we call it, the big, the great big, beautiful bill. It's a beauty. There's never been a bill like this one. We're trying to get it all into one beautiful bill. It's, uh, tax cuts, regulation cuts, and many other things.

Democrats criticize it as a bill that they say will hand tax breaks to the wealthy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson explains what comes next:

JOHNSON:  We have our 11 committees that will get instructions for reconciliation in the house. They're ready to go. We've been working on this for many months. And now we go through the, the process of marking it up and finding the equilibrium points with everybody.

In simple terms, hammering out the details and getting everyone on the same page.

Thursday’s vote sets the stage to eventually push the so-called ‘big, beautiful bill’ through the Senate using the budget reconciliation process.

That would allow Republicans to get around a Democratic filibuster.

Lock the Clock hearing » Meanwhile, across the Capitol Rotunda, senators heard testimony about fixing the clock: adopting a fixed time year-round. No more ‘Spring forward, Fall back’ time changes.

But which permanent time would be best? Daylight Savings, or Standard?

Dr. Karin Johnson is a neurology professor at the University of Massachusetts.

KJOHNSON:  The negative impact of daylight savings, time on sleep, and our brain health harms the economy workers, especially those with early start times before eight 30. Think of your farmers, your transportation workers, your factory workers are less likely to be productive and efficient.

But other witnesses testified about the potential economic benefits of year-round Daylight Savings.

Johnson countered that the US has tried, and quickly abandoned,  permanent Daylight Savings twice before, most recently in 1974.

One plan under consideration aims to give that one more try.

But there is an alternative being discussed letting each state decide for itself.

ROCHESTER: What works in my home state of Delaware may not work in Washington State.

But some argue that would be too complicated.

A recent Stetson University poll suggests most Americans prefer keeping Daylight Savings over Standard time. But that vast majority, 3 out of 4, agree on ditching the twice annual time changes.

Inflation numbers » The Bureau of Labor Statistics says inflation cooled more than expected last month. WORLD’s Christina Grube has more.

CHRISTINA GRUBE:  Economists were expecting some improvement in the consumer price index in March, but the numbers were much better than forecast.

Prices were mostly steady last month. Overall inflation ticked down just a bit, while prices for most goods except food and energy went up slightly.

Over the past year, prices are up 2.4% overall. And that number is 2.8% if you leave out food and energy.

Economists expect tariffs that took effect this month to raise prices for consumers and businesses.

For WORLD, I’m Christina Grube.

Iran negotiations » US and Iranian negotiators are still set to gather in the Middle East tomorrow to begin new negotiations surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.

We previously mistakenly reported Amman, Jordan as the site for those talks. However, the negotiations will in fact begin in the Sultanate of Oman.

Israel-Hamas negotiations » President Trump says Israel and Hamas are moving closer to a deal to release the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

TRUMP: We're making progress. We, you know, there's 59 hostages, but only 24 of them are living. But we're making progress. We're dealing with Israel, we're dealing with Hamas, and it's, it's a nasty group.

Meanwhile:

SOUND: [Prisoners released]

Ten Palestinians detained by Israeli troops reunited with their families yesterday after they were freed by the Israeli government.

Israel-Turkey talks » All of this comes as Israeli officials announced that they are holding talks with Turkey about the situation on the ground in Syria.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer:

MENCER: I can share with you that each side has presented its interests in the region and it has been agreed to continue the path of dialogue for the purpose of maintaining regional stability.

Since Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad was ousted last year, Israel and Turkey have been competing over their separate interests there.

The talks are aimed at preventing conflict between Turkish and Israeli troops on the ground.

Moscow prisoner swap » The Trump administration has secured the freedom of an American with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship in a prisoner swap with Moscow.

Russian authorities arrested Ksenia Karelina in February of last year in the city of Yekaterinburg while she was visiting family there.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters Thursday:

BRUCE: Ksenia was detained in Russia for more than a year and will soon be reunited with her loved ones.

Karelina was an amateur ballerina who lived in Los Angeles.

In exchange for her freedom, the administration is sending to Moscow a Russian German man, jailed on smuggling charges in the U.S.

Thursday's prisoner swap comes as the two countries work to repair diplomatic ties, and as President Trump pushes for a peace deal in Ukraine.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with WORLD Opinions managing editor Andrew Walker. Plus, Word Play with George Grant.

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