President Donald Trump is escalating his tariff war, doubling duties on imports from India to 50% starting Wednesday. The move is punishment for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, but critics warned it will raise prices for American consumers.
In Arizona, a monster dust storm swallowed Phoenix, Arizona, grounding flights, cutting power to thousands and leaving drivers stranded in near-zero visibility.
And Cracker Barrel just learned the hard way: don’t mess with “Uncle Herschel.” After a week of customer outrage, the chain is scrapping its new logo and bringing back the old one.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025.
Trump raises tariffs on India to 50% for buying Russian oil
President Donald Trump has escalated his global tariff war, imposing some of the highest rates yet on India. Starting Wednesday, tariffs on Indian imports will jump to 50%, double the previous rate.
The move punishes New Delhi for buying Russian oil. It also threatens to strain relations with one of America’s key partners and drive up costs for American shoppers on items such as jewelry, linens, active wear and leather goods.
India calls the measure unfair, pointing out that other countries, such as China, the largest buyer of Russian crude oil, face lower tariffs at just 30%.
The White House said more countries could be next if they keep purchasing Moscow’s oil.
Trade between the U.S. and India is substantial. Last year, the U.S. imported $87 billion in goods from India, while exporting $42 billion the other way.
The stakes for both economies and American consumers are significant.
FEMA workers punished for ‘Katrina declaration’
Several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers were placed on leave after signing a scathing letter to Congress. The letter blasted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Trump.
The letter, titled the “Katrina declaration,” warned that the administration’s changes to FEMA could trigger catastrophic failures.
It was released on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s formation, which killed 1,400 people in New Orleans. Although most did so anonymously, 180 current and former FEMA staffers signed it.
One supervisor told CNN the Trump administration put her and at least a half-dozen others on paid leave, and had their government accounts suspended.
The declaration accused the Trump administration of dismantling FEMA’s authority and undoing two decades of progress since Katrina.
It also called for the agency to be insulated from political pressure.
Trump-appointed judge slams White House suit as ‘calamitous’
Trump faces a setback in court as a federal judge dismisses his administration’s lawsuit against the entire federal bench in Maryland. The case centered on a standing order that temporarily stops the immediate deportation of migrants who file challenges in federal court.
The Justice Department called the decision a direct assault on Trump’s power to enforce immigration law.
But Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, slammed the move as “novel and potentially calamitous.” He said the administration had clearer, legal paths to challenge the order than suing an entire court.
He went even further by criticizing the White House for its attacks on judges who rule against it.
The judge wrote, “This concerted effort by the executive to smear and impugn individual judges who rule against it is both unprecedented and unfortunate.”
The administration announced it would appeal the decision.
Cracker Barrel backtracks: Old logo returns after outcry
Cracker Barrel attempted to modernize, but its customers pushed back. Now, the company is quickly backpedaling.
On social media, the restaurant chain announced it’s scrapping the new minimalist logo and bringing back the old familiar “Uncle Herschel.” It wrote, in part, “We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away, and our ‘old timer’ will remain.”
The reversal came after the company’s stock plummeted, costing Crack Barrel more than $100 million in value.
Loyal fans criticized the rebrand online after Cracker Barrel swapped its iconic barrel-and-old-country-store theme for a simple text-only logo. That logo lasted barely a week, just long enough to spark memes — even trolling from the White House on Truth Social.
Trump weighing in, twice Tuesday, first urging the company to go back to the old logo and then writing, “Congratulations, Cracker Barrel. All of your fans very much appreciate it. Make lots of money and, most importantly, make your customers happy again!”
Giant dust storm in Phoenix grounds flights, knocks out power
A towering wall of dust turned Phoenix, Arizona, from day into night — a terrifying haboob that swept across the desert this week. Time-lapse video captured the massive cloud overtaking the skyline with no visibility on the ground.
Flights at Sky Harbor Airport came to a halt, and a 70-mile-per-hour gust ripped material off a terminal roof. The storm also cut power for 55,000 customers, according to the Associated Press.
A mother driving her kids home had to pull over as the storm surrounded her car. She said she couldn’t see anything.
“Can’t see anything. We’re in the middle of a haboob. We’re in our car,” the woman said.
By Tuesday evening, crews had mostly restored power and cleared downed trees. However, the storm revealed how swiftly Arizona’s monsoon season can become dangerous.
Haboobs — these huge dust walls — occur every summer. But with Phoenix running drier than usual, this one delivered an extra punch.
10th SpaceX Starship test flight succeeds after series of failures
SpaceX’s Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, just completed its first fully successful test flight. After multiple delays and previous failures, Tuesday night’s launch went smoothly.
Starship and its giant superheavy booster both made gentle splashdowns: one in the Gulf, the other half a world away in the Indian Ocean. The entire test took just under an hour.
Elon Musk claimed that Starship will someday carry humans to Mars, and NASA is relying on returning astronauts to the Moon with the spacecraft this decade.
More from Straight Arrow News:
Why is mahjong’s popularity exploding in Houston and across the US?
Cecila Yip learned how to play mahjong growing up in Taiwan, where the centuries-old Chinese tile game was a mainstay at social and family gatherings, especially during the Chinese Lunar New Year. But she often felt intimidated and struggled to keep up with other family members who were quicker and more decisive in their strategy.
“I [was] always the slowest one,” Yip told Straight Arrow News. “Everybody’s waiting for me to make a decision.”
That isn’t a concern at the Chinese Community Center’s (CCC) monthly beginner’s level mahjong workshop in Houston.
Mahjong is having a massive resurgence, both in Houston and across the nation. Between 2023 and 2024, mahjong events on Eventbrite jumped 365% nationwide and 867% in Houston, according to the platform’s data. The growth is driven both by a diverse new crowd — particularly young players, Jewish and other non-Asian women drawn to its American variant and ornate tiles — and players like Yip gradually reconnecting with their cultural roots.
Yip lives in College Station, roughly 90 minutes outside Houston, where she has struggled to find programs that teach traditional Chinese mahjong to seniors. It’s why she happily commutes to Houston once a month to learn the game’s fundamentals, speak Mandarin with bilingual instructors and find community with non-Chinese Houstonians picking up the game for the first time. Read the full story now >
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Author: Craig Nigrelli
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