Good afternoon,

It’s that day, again. The 2025 tax filing deadline is today. You have a few hours left to file your returns, or at least file an extension. The good news is that millions of Americans are expected to receive higher refunds this year.

• As of last week, the average refund has increased from $3,011 last year to $3,116 — about a 3.5% rise.

  • That’s due to the IRS adjusting standard deductions and tax brackets for inflation, allowing more taxpayers to deduct a greater portion of their 2024 income.

• More than 140 million people are expected to file returns by the federal deadline.

  • As for which state saw the highest average refunds: Florida (about $3,900), Texas ($3,800), and Wyoming ($3,700) topped the list for tax year 2022 and are expected to do the same this year.

I was one of the people who saw a bump in their refund this year, making me wonder if I should adjust my withholdings. Some tax advisors recommend doing so, as refunds really mean the federal government has been holding your money with 0% interest. It’s sadly not free $. A smaller refund means you retained more of your income throughout the year.

For all of you who waited until the last minute to file, we are sending you 🧠 brain power.

Lauren
Producer

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🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Meta Antitrust Trial Begins; Government May Try To Force It To Sell Instagram & WhatsApp

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg was on the stand over the last two days in an antitrust trial that could dictate the future of social media. If Meta loses, it could be forced to sell WhatsApp and Instagram. Zuckerberg testified that while buying Instagram took a competitor off the market, his company actually maximized the app’s value.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is accusing the company of violating antitrust laws by acquiring WhatsApp and Instagram to eliminate competition.

INSIDE THE ARGUMENTS
The company, which changed its name from Facebook to Meta in 2021, bought Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion and WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014. Both apps are now each estimated to be worth more than $100 billion.

• Meta has defended the acquisitions, arguing that both companies might not have survived without its support, and that Meta still faces significant competition in the social media space from companies like TikTok and Snap.

• The government argues that Meta illegally cemented a monopoly in the social media space by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp when they were small — they stifled innovation and consumer choice.

  • Meta lawyers note that the FTC approved both acquisitions more than a decade ago, and that trying to unwind them now would set a dangerous legal precedent.

The government faces an uphill battle as it must prove that Meta could not have achieved its dominance without acquiring apps like Instagram. While Meta’s growth after acquiring Instagram has been massive, it’s hard to prove Meta wouldn’t have found another path to success. The trial is expected to last more than two months. Here’s some of today’s highlights ⬇️

🚨 ONE THING THAT’S GETTING ATTENTION

Trump Admin Looks At Cutting Federal Funding For NPR & PBS

The White House is expected to ask Congress to rescind more than $1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasting later this month — a move that could effectively eliminate government support for NPR and PBS.

Specifically, the administration plans to propose a rollback of $1.1 billion allocated over two years to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the taxpayer-funded nonprofit that supports public media outlets across the country. The measure would require a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate. A reminder that Republicans currently control both chambers—though a number of GOP leaders still support the CPB.

HOW WE GOT HERE
The CPB was established in the 1960s by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a bipartisan nonprofit tasked with funding local stations focused on educational programming, rather than commercial content (like most broadcast channels).

• Over the past five decades, nearly every Republican candidate and president — except Gerald Ford — have attempted to cut public broadcasting funds.

  • ⬇️ Below Mitt Romney during a 2012 presidential debate with Obama on wanting to cut funding.

• One major complaint is that news and programming on NPR and PBS lean progressive and liberal. The White House has pointed to an NPR article on “queer animals,” a PBS documentary about a transgender teen, and the networks for having “zero tolerance for non-leftist viewpoints,” noting that the Hunter Biden laptop story had limited coverage.

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
For this year, Congress appropriated $535 million to CPB. Funding is then distributed to about 1,500 local stations across the U.S., which produce their own shows. The stations then pay NPR and PBS for the rights to air national shows.

• Per American, this funding comes out a little over $1.50 a year.

  • In the United Kingdom, households pay a fee that’s around $200 per year to access the BBC.

• The millions in federal funding account for only a small portion of public media budgets — about 8% for the average public radio station and roughly 17% for public television stations.

  • The rest of the costs are covered heavily by donations, grants, and sponsorships. Supporters hope the news will actually fuel more gifts from donors to cover the potential gap.

🚨 ONE THING THAT NEEDS CONTEXT

FDA Plans To Phase Out Animal Testing Requirement In Drug Development

The FDA announced recently it will begin phasing out animal testing requirements for certain drugs, including antibody therapies, in favor of AI models and other “human-relevant” tools. The goal is to lower R&D costs, improve drug safety, and address ethical concerns.

WHAT IT COULD LOOK LIKE
Researchers are being encouraged to use computer simulations and AI technologies to predict drugs’ performance. Miniaturized devices, called organs-on-a-chip, can also mimic organs and tissues.

• Companies that submit strong non-animal safety data may qualify for faster reviews, and the FDA will begin accepting data from countries with similar standards.

The biopharmaceutical industry remains cautious, with the National Association for Biomedical Research saying in a statement that animal testing is still essential for understanding complex biological systems and ensuring drug safety. However, some studies have also pointed to limited effectiveness, with about nine in 10 prescription medicines not being as effective in humans as they were in animals.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Trump administration freezes $2 billion in grants to Harvard over campus activism (AP)

📌 White House bars AP reporter, defying court order (AXIOS)

📌 Trump ‘looking into’ legality of deporting U.S. citizens to foreign prisons, White House says (CNBC)

📌 Salvadoran fugitive convicted in deadly attack of Maryland hiker (CNN)

📌 Joe Biden will speak about Social Security in his return to the national stage (AP)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Trump administration looking at closing nearly 30 overseas embassies and consulates (CNN)

📌 Trump holds situation room meeting on Iran nuclear deal negotiations (AXIOS)

📌 Sudan talks in London as war enters third year (NPR)

📌 Pope puts architect Antoni Gaudí on path to sainthood (BBC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Autism rates have risen to 1 in 31 school-age children, CDC reports (NBC)

📌 The first meteor shower of spring will be visible from parts of the U.S. April 21-22 (YAHOO)

📌 Amid declining sales, Starbucks tightening restrictions on dress code for baristas (AP)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 His conviction was hailed as a #MeToo victory. After winning his appeal, Harvey Weinstein is back on trial (CNN)

📌 Baseball teams celebrate Jackie Robinson Day amidst uncertainty over MLB diversity initiatives (AXIOS)

📌 Lil Nas X in hospital with partial face paralysis (BBC)

📌 Jesse Eisenberg’s next film will be an A24 musical comedy with Julianne Moore and Bernadette Peters (VARIETY)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Can you break bread with a political rival? Late-night comedian Bill Maher, host of “Real Time With Bill Maher” on HBO, shared details about his recent White House dinner with President Trump during his Friday night monologue. 🎤

Maher, a long-time critic of the president, described Trump as a “gracious and measured” host and “more self-aware than he lets on in public.” The dinner —organized by musician and Trump supporter Kid Rock — included what Maher called an “amazing tour” of the White House. He even handed Trump a list of more than 50 insults the president had directed at him over the years and asked him to sign it. 📝

“Everything I’ve ever not liked about him was — I swear to God — absent, at least on this night, with this guy,” Maher told his studio audience.