GNI POLITICS

Iranian human rights attorney and activist Nasrin Satoudeh holds a photo of her husband outside Tehran's Evin Prison, where he is an inmate. Reza Khandan was taken into custody in December on charges of making buttons reading "I Oppose the Mandatory Hijab" and otherwise supporting women's rights. His wife has spent six years behind bars on similar charges. "Today was the day I'm supposed to be able to meet Reza," she said, "but as usual they prevented me from seeing him because I wasn't wearing a hijab." Credit - Photo by Barbad Behravan این متن را به فارسی بخوانید Reza Khandanwas arrested in December 2024 for supporting women's rights in Iran, and creating thousands of homemade buttons that said, "I Oppose the Mandatory Hijab." He had previously been imprisoned for 111 days in 2018 for this so-called crime before being released on bail. Reza's wife, Nasrin Sotoudeh, spent over six years in Iranian prisons for her work as a human rights attorney and activist. Reza raised their daughter and son while maintaining his graphic design business, and defying government threats as he campaigned for Nasrin's freedom. Now, Nasrin is home on a medical furlough for a heart condition that was exacerbated by COVID-19 and mistreatment in prison, and Reza is facing at least three more years in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. I got to know these good people when I directed and producedNasrin, a 2020 documentary about her life and work. She was in prison most of the time we were filming, and I saw Reza's character— and love—repeatedly tested by a regime that punishes families as a way of inflicting additional pain on its detainees. This interview started in April when I sent a series of questions to Reza. Slowly and with some complicated back and forth, he passed his answers to me. Why have you put yourself at risk (in and out of prison) by criticizing your government—and is it dangerous for you to do this interview?I have a duty and the privilege to defend my rights and the rights of others. Without that, there is a dark future for us and our children. In a country like Iran, with this government, every protest and criticism carries a risk, but that's a chance I'm willing to take.You are a man, with all the privileges that brings in virtually every country. Why do you so strongly support women's rights?No country can achieve democracy, and development with justice and human dignity, without guaranteeing equal rights for women and men. A society that ignores the rights of half of its population will never achieve real greatness. Describe your December 2024 arrest.That morning, I'd gone to the store so I could do some work at the house. On my way back, I noticed several people standing by the entrance talking to the building manager. As soon as I got out of the car, they came towards me, pointed at my license plate, and said they were investigating a crime that had been committed with my car. It quickly became clear that all of their words were lies, and their real intent was to arrest me for my judicial case. After a minute or so, Nasrin joined us. She asked if she could get our son Nima from upstairs so he and I could have a moment together before they took me away. They said yes, but when she left to get him, they forced me into their car and drove off. I never got a chance to say goodbye to my son. I slept in the detention center that night. It was extremely cold. They intentionally turned off the radiator, and there was no other heating device. The detainees were not given food or water. The cells had no beds and there were only a few dirty blankets to somehow be shared by about a dozen people. The Guardian Officer responded to my protests with dirt and ridicule. The filthy bathroom had no soap. They weren't even willing to even let me buy soap with my own money. The next morning, I was transferred to the prosecutor in Evin Prison's court. After hours of being interviewed and processed, I was transferred to a prison quarantine, where I stayed for nine days without any outside contact.Read more:Why Iran's Leading Women's Rights Defender Thinks the Protesters Could Topple the Regime What is your typical day like in prison? Part of my day is spent cleaning and doing personal chores like buying supplies that are available in the prison store. Food in Iranian prisons is rarely edible, so we have to purchase whatever ingredients we can and prepare our own meals. Ward 8, where I am held, has 33 gas burners for around 600 people. I am part of a group of about ten inmates who cook and eat together, and we are allowed to use a burner three times a week. When possible, I read in the library, and I make sure to exercise. I also walk with friends, which gives us the opportunity to exchange opinions about the news we get through contact with our families. The big problem for an inmate is usually the very slow passage of time, but for me it is just the opposite. I don't want my time here to pass faster because that means I am losing all the moments I should be sharing with my wife, my children, and others I love. Describe Evin Prison and the ward you are in.Evin Prison houses about 15,000 inmates divided into different wards, and there is extreme overcrowding. The reason Evin is infamous is because of its terribly cruel high security detention centers that are poorly supervised by the Prison Chief. Each of these security areas is controlled by of one of the government's security bodies, such as the Ministry of Information, the Revolutionary Guards, and the Judiciary. These detention centers do not comply with any law. Their interrogators employ all kinds of inhumane behavior with the inmates, who are systematically deprived of their rights. Prisoners face beatings, denial of medical care, months in solitary confinement with a total news-blackout, crushing interrogations, forced confessions that taped and broadcast on national television after heavy editing, plus psychological, physical, and sexual torture. Even seemingly small acts deliver needless cruelty. For instance, prisoners have to wear a blindfold and be escorted by an officer if they need to use the bathroom or go to the nurse's office.Read more:'It's Like We're Hanging in the Air.' Iranian Activist Nasrin Sotoudeh's Husband on Her Temporary Release From Prison After the interrogation phase and the issuance of a sentence, prisoners are transferred to a public ward. This is where we will remain until our sentence expires. I am in Ward 8, which has about 600 prisoners. Almost 80% of these men are held for public offences, and the rest are political. Political prisoners do not enjoy equality with ordinary prisoners. We are constantly monitored and followed, our phone access is strictly controlled, the limited calls we do get are constantly cut off for false reasons during conversations, and we rarely get parole. Bedbugs continue to plague all the prisoners. Drugs are rampant. The prison yard has become unusable due to drug use in front of guards and cameras. The slightest complaint about the prison administrators' performance is severely suppressed. This is why I have gone on several hunger strikes since my arrest.How and why have the authorities harassed and hurt your family? How does this make you feel?The Iranian government actively suppresses the voices of civil society, especially women, and it reacts with great brutality to the smallest protest or disobedience. My wife Nasrin was imprisoned for over six years for her work as a human rights attorney. Our daughter Mehraveh has been threatened and harassed in numerous ways (including a forced daylong interrogation). Our son Nima was savagely beaten by prison guards when he tried to visit me (this was no accident, but a planned assault). In addition, our bank accounts were frozen, and now I am held in one of the worst wards of Evin Prison because I support women' rights and I made buttons that said, "I oppose the mandatory hijab." Many others have faced similar cruelties, and much worse. Despite all the difficulties and hardship that Nasrin has endured on this path, she doesn't doubt her choices. Neither do I. We can't be apathetic towards injustice and oppression. I think this is why regardless of the challenges and struggles we've faced; we have kept the family close and as strong as ever. This is the treasure that has made all our activism possible. What has your wife Nasrin taught you and how does she inspire you?I've loved Nasrin since we first met, and a shared commitment to women's rights and opposition to the compulsory hijab has always been part of our relationship. Nasrin was unjustly and cruellyimprisonedfor her legal work representing Iranian human rights and women's rights activists from 2010 through 2013 (when our children were very young), and again from 2018 through 2021 (she was eventually released on a medical furlough due to a serious heart problem). In October 2023, she was beaten, arrested, anddetainedfor several weeks for attending the funeral ofArmita Geravand, a 17-year-old who was killed for supposedly not properly wearing her hijab. All this time, Nasrin has never stopped showing a deep concern for her family, and she has never given in to enormous pressure from the government. I am inspired by those qualities, and more. I am also inspired by my fellow inmates who have been arrested for their support of human rights, in Iran and around the world.Read more:Nasrin Sotoudeh Is on the 2021 TIME100 List You have spoken openly about some of your cellmates who are also imprisoned for being human right activists. If it will help and not put them at risk, please share what you can about them.We have no statistics of the number of political prisoners in the security detention centers inside Evin Prison, but I estimate that there are about 300, and about 70 of them are women. There are nearly 80 political prisoners in our ward alone, including men with dual citizenship, women's rights and democracy activists, and those held for a variety of ideological beliefs. Reza Valizadeh is currently the only dual-national political prisoner with American citizenship. Last year he visited Iran to see his aging parents. After a few months of harassment and interrogation, he was finallyarrested and sentencedto ten years in prison. Valizadeh was a radio reporter until a few years ago, so they tried to force him to confess to "collaborating with a foreign government." The also tried to get him to speak against his former colleagues at Radio Farda, which he strongly rejected. Valizadeh has consistently stood up against their inhumane demands. Mohammad Najafi,Mohammad Reza FaghiheeandTaher Naghaviare lawyers who are in prison for their human rights activities.Mohammad Najafiholds the record in having the most cases created against him. He has been in prison for nearly 7 years. Vahid Khadirzadeh is a young man who was convicted and incarcerated for protesting the forced veiling of women, and he is somewhat similar to me and my friend Farhad Meysami (Farhad was imprisoned for 5 years). Another man is in prison for the fourth time for a total of 8 and a half years. He says he spent 120 days in solitary confinement during one of his detentions. Because of this experience, he was so intellectually and psychologically disturbed that at the end of confinement when they gave him a piece of fruit, he could not remember the word "orange." What personal message can you say to your daughter Mehraveh and your son Nima?Nasrin and I at all times think about our son and daughter. When we are working for individual freedoms and human rights, andwhen we are away in prisonfor those activities, Mehraveh and Nima are in our hearts. We consider their circumstances, their dreams, their future, and the future of all the children in this country. They deserve a better life. All our strength and energy come from our children, who have suffered more than us. Nasrin and I are very proud of them, and we have learned from them greatly. Being separated from Mehraveh and Nima, and from Nasrin, is agony. I love them very much. You are in prison in part because you believe in a democratic ideal, yet democracy is being seriously challenged in many countries, including America. Do you still believe in democracy and where do you see the world headed in the next decade or two?The process of democratization starts and stops, but the world is moving forward. Progress is inevitable. Perhaps it is hard for people in other countries, like yours, to imagine having leaders who have so little concern for human rights that they will lock up individuals for trying to make their society better. This can happen if you are not careful. In Iran, I feel the arrest of people like me, activists in the women's movement, protesters of the compulsory hijab, and advocates of a just civil society, is a last desperate and senseless attempt to continue this incompetent and corrupt government. I do draw hope and strength from those here who support the process of democratization, and from people half-way across the world whose daily lives are dedicated to the fight against injustice. I am proud of our work and am sure that we have taken the right path. How can you keep hope alive in prison?The most important point of hope is that it strengthens our belief in change and in the impact our activities have outside of prison. When political prisoners hear of support from people like you, it has a direct benefit. Knowing we are not alone and not forgotten is very closely tied to keeping our sense of purpose. Of course, all prisoners must have a plan for themselves. Reading, exercise, exchange of information and ideas with fellow inmates, and helping each other, all helps us to serve our sentence with the least damage. What message do you have for the leaders of Iran? Leaders of authoritarian governments do not want to hear anything except praise. They always deem themselves to be an exception to the lessons of history. But they should know, history doesn't have any exceptions. I also want to say, "I demand freedom for all political prisoners," and "I object to the compulsory hijab!" What would you like to say to all the people who signed the petition calling for your freedom?When Nasrin told me that this petition was signed by so many people from dozens of countries around the world, it made me very proud and hopeful. I am deeply grateful to every one of these dear friends. Were it not for this level of concern, awareness, and public pressure for the release of me and other political prisoners, our condition would be much worse and more dangerous. This a great blessing. Farsitranslationby Parisa Saranj Contact usatletters@time.com.

WASHINGTON − TheSupreme Courton May 30 said theTrump administrationcanrevoke the temporary legal statusof hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States. Two of the court's liberal justices – Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor – dissented. Jackson wrote that the court "plainly botched" its assessment of whether the government or the migrants would suffer the greater harm if their legal status ends while the administration's mass termination of that status is being litigated. Jackson said the majority undervalued "the devastating consequences of allowing the Government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million noncitizens while their legal claims are pending." The administration wants to cut short a program that provided a two-year haven for migrants because of economic, security, political and health crises in their home countries. Lawyers for the migrants said half a million people lawfully in the country will become subject to deportation, in what it called the "largest mass illegalization event in modern American history." Labor unions and communities that have welcomed the migrants said they've filled gaps in key industries, including healthcare, construction and manufacturing. Nearly 20% of the workers at one automotive parts manufacturer are in the temporary program, according to labor unions. The Trump administration said it's determined the migrants' presence in the United States is "against the national interests" and the courts don't get to decide otherwise. The move is part of the PresidentDonald Trump'scrackdown on immigrationandpush to ramp up deportations, including of noncitizens previously granted a legal right to live and work in the United States. TheBiden administration hoped the programwould deter migrants from those countries from trying to enter the country illegally. But theTrumpadministration cancelled people's work permits and deportation protections, arguing the program failed as a deterrent and makes it harder to enforce immigration laws for those already in the country. Immigrant rights groups challenged the change on behalf of the immigrants and their sponsors. A federal judge in Massachusettssaidthe abrupt curtailing of the program was based on a legal error, as the administration wrongly concluded that letting the temporary status naturally expire would foreclose the Homeland Security Department's ability to legally expedite their deportations. District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, also said early cancellation of protections requires a case-by-case review for each participant. A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of AppealsbackedTalwani's decision to temporarily block mass cancellation. All three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. The Justice Department argued the lower courts are "undoing democratically approved policies that featured heavily in the November election." Lawyers for a group of cities and counties said the abrupt cancellation of the program "would case severe economic and societal harms." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Supreme Court lets Trump revoke migrants' temporary status

By Francesco Canepa FRANKFURT (Reuters) -For all the drama surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's trade tariffs, the world economy is holding up better than many had expected. The latest data from the United States, China and, to a lesser extent, Europe are showing resilience and the global economy as a whole is still expected to grow modestly this year. This is in part due to U.S. buyers and foreign sellers bringing forward business while many of the import duties unveiled by U.S. President Donald Trump remain suspended. While that effect may prove short-lived, Trump's decision to pause tariffs and some glimpses of progress in trade talks, particularly between the United States and the European Union, have fuelled cautious optimism. "We are seeing a bit of a sugar rush in industry, with manufacturers bringing forward production and trade," said Holger Schmieding, an economist at investment bank Berenberg. "The other thing is that we have evidence that Trump pedalled back on tariffs. The bet in markets and to some extent in the economy is that he barks but doesn't bite." Investment banks and institutions generally expect the United States to avoid a recession this year and the global economy to keep growing. The International Monetary Fund downgraded its global GDP growth forecast by just 0.5 percentage points last month to 2.8%. This is roughly in line with the trend over the past decade and a far cry from the downturns experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2008 financial crisis or even the turmoil that followed the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001. No one is venturing a prediction on where the trade negotiations will eventually settle, particularly with a U.S. president who sees himself as unstoppable. This week alone, separate U.S. courts first blocked and then reinstated Trump's tariffs - creating a degree of legal uncertainty that will do little to facilitate trade deals between the United States and those threatened with the levies. While the EU celebrated "new impetus" in its trade talks with the United States, negotiations with China were "a bit stalled" according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Companies are counting the cost of the ongoing impasse. A Reuters analysis of corporate disclosures shows Trump's trade war had cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, a toll that is expected to rise as ongoing uncertainty over tariffs paralyses decision making at some of the world's largest companies. Car-makers from Japan's Toyota to Germany's Porsche and Mercedes-Benz are bracing for lower, or lower-than-previously expected profits if they have not given up making predictions altogether, like Volvo Cars and Dutch-based Stellantis. This is likely to result in a hit especially for Japan. The United States is Japan's biggest export destination, accounting for 21 trillion yen ($146.16 billion) worth of goods, with automobiles representing roughly 28% of the total. "While the worst shocks may be over, there's still a lot up in the air," Xingchen Yu, a strategist at UBS's Chief Investment Office, said. "We don't really know what a new normal for tariffs would look like, unfortunately." PAYBACK But so far the global economy has held up pretty well. China's output and exports are resilient as its companies re-route trade to the United States via third countries. Even in Europe, manufacturing activity was at a 33-month high in May, rebounding from a slump induced by more expensive fuel following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Confidence was also buttressed by the prospect of greater fiscal spending in Germany, a missing ingredient for European growth for the past couple of decades. The robustness of the world economy has surprised even professional forecasters. A measure produced by U.S. bank Citi that tracks the degree to which global economic data has surprised to the upside is now at its highest in more than a year.    Some of that strength circles back to the tariffs themselves and the attempts by U.S. households and businesses to front-load purchases to beat anticipated price increases later this year. U.S. imports were up around 30% in March from where they were in October. The risk to the upbeat outlook comes from the expected "payback" of those advance purchases, which are unlikely to be repeated and will mean slower activity - in the U.S. and elsewhere - later. Economists still fear a triple whammy in which the front-loaded boost to the goods sector is unwound while U.S. household purchasing power is squeezed by higher prices and companies put off investment and hiring. At the margin, however, this scenario is starting to appear a little less likely after Trump's pause on tariffs. "The balance has slightly shifted towards more optimism, albeit with uncertainty and volatility," ING's global head of macro Carsten Brzeski said. ($1 = 143.6800 yen) (Additional reporting by Dan Burns in Washington, Claire Fu in Singapore, Ellen Zhang in Beijing and Leika Kihara in Tokyo; Editing by Mark John and Jane Merriman)

President Donald Trumpaccused China of violating a tariff agreement with the United States in a social media post on May 30, after his Treasury Secretary said negotiations had "stalled." "Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!"he said in the poston his social media platform Truth Social. Two weeks ago, the United States and China agreed to dial back triple-digittariffsfor 90 days while they negotiated an agreement. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Thursday that talks "are a bit stalled" but they continue. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer declined to respond to reporters' questions at the White House about the progress of trade negotiations with China or whether tariffs would return to 145%. The temporary truce was reached after Trumpslapped sky-high tariffs on importsfrom China into the U.S., and China retaliated in kind. In the post, Trump inaccurately claimed that he saved China from "grave economic danger" caused by his tariffs by agreeing to trade discussions. "We went, in effect, COLD TURKEY with China, and it was devastating for them. Many factories closed and there was, to put it mildly, "civil unrest," Trump claimedin the Truth Social post. Reporter Bart Jansen contributed This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Trump lashes out at China, says country 'totally violated' tariff deal

DAMASCUS (AP) — The lifting of economic sanctions onSyriawill allow the government to begin work on daunting tasks that include fighting corruption and bringing millions of refugees home, Hind Kabawat, the minister of social affairs and labor, told The Associated Press on Friday. Kabawat is the only woman and the only Christian in the 23-membercabinet formedin March to steer the country during a transitional period after the ouster of former PresidentBashar Assadin a rebel offensive in December. Her portfolio will be one of the most important as the country begins rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. She saidmoves by the U.S. and the European Unionin the past week to at least temporarily lift most of the sanctions that had been imposed on Syria over decades will allow that work to get started. Before, she said, "we would talk, we would make plans, but nothing could happen on the ground because sanctions were holding everything up and restricting our work." With the lifting of sanctions they can now move to "implementation." One of the first programs the new government is planning to launch is "temporary schools" for the children of refugees and internally displaced people returning to their home areas. Kabawat said that it will take time for the easing of sanctions to show effects on the ground, particularly since unwinding some of the financial restrictions will involve complicated bureaucracy. "We are going step by step," she said. "We are not saying that anything is easy -- we have many challenges — but we can't be pessimistic. We need to be optimistic." The new government's vision is "that we don't want either food baskets or tents after five years," Kabawat said, referring to the country's dependence on humanitarian aid and many displacement camps. That may be an ambitious target, given that 90% of the country's population currently lives below the poverty line, according to theUnited Nations. Thecivil warthat began in 2011 also displaced half the country's pre-war population of 23 million people. The U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that about half a million havereturned to Syriasince Assad was ousted. But the dire economic situation and battered infrastructure have also dissuaded many refugees from coming back. The widespread poverty also fed into a culture of public corruption that developed in the Assad era, including solicitation of bribes by public employees and shakedowns by security forces at checkpoints. Syria's new rulers have pledged to end the corruption, but they face an uphill battle. Public employees make salaries far below the cost of living, and the new government has so far been unable to make good on a promise to hike public sector wages by 400%. "How can I fight corruption if the monthly salary is $40 and that is not enough to buy food for 10 days?" Kabawat asked. Women and minorities The country's new rulers, led by PresidentAhmad al-Sharaa— the former head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, a Sunni Islamist insurgent group that spearheaded the offensive against Assad — have been under scrutiny by western countries over the treatment of Syrian women and religious minorities. In March, clashes between government security forces and pro-Assad armed groups spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks onmembers of the Alawite sectto which Assad belongs. Hundreds ofcivilians were killed. The government formed a committee to investigate the attacks, which has not yet reported its findings. Many also criticized the transitional government as giving only token representation to women and minorities. Apart from Kabawat, the cabinet includes only one member each from the Druze and Alawite sects and one Kurd. "Everywhere I travel… the first and last question is, 'What is the situation of the minorities?'" Kabawat said. "I can understand the worries of the West about the minorities, but they should also be worried about Syrian men and women as a whole." She said the international community's priority should be to help Syria to build its economy and avoid the country falling into "chaos." 'Rebuilding our institutions' Despite being the only woman in the cabinet, Kabawat said "now there is a greater opportunity for women" than under Assad and that "today there is no committee being formed that does not have women in it." "Syrian women have suffered a lot in these 14 years and worked in all areas," she said. "All Syrian men and women need to have a role in rebuilding our institutions." She called for those wary of al-Sharaa to give him a chance. While the West has warmed to the new president -- particularly after his recenthigh-profile meetingwith U.S.President Donald Trump— others have not forgotten that he fought against U.S. forces in Iraq after the invasion of 2003 or that his HTS group was formed as an offshoot of al-Qaida, although it later cut ties. "People used to call (Nelson) Mandela a terrorist, and then he became the first leader among those who freed South Africa, and after that suddenly he was no longer a terrorist," Kabawat said. She urged skeptics to "give us the same chance that you gave to South Africa."

By Brad Heath, Jason Lange, Andy Sullivan, Grant Smith WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Elon Musk once famously wielded a chainsaw on stage in a theatrical demonstration of his effort to drastically cut U.S. federal spending under President Donald Trump. As he leaves government, official data shows he achieved something closer to a trim with scissors. In the four months since Musk's Department of Government Efficiency began slashing federal spending and staffing, a handful of the agencies he has targeted trimmed their combined spending by about $19 billion compared with the same period last year, according to U.S. Treasury Department summaries reviewed by Reuters. That is far below Musk's initial goal of $2 trillion in savings and amounts to about a half of 1% of total spending by the federal government. Musk said on Wednesday he is leaving the administration but that its cost-cutting work will "only strengthen over time." It remains to be seen, however, how enthusiastically Trump's cabinet secretaries will continue to downsize their departments. DOGE says it pulled the plug on more than 26,000 federal grants and contracts that are worth about $73 billion, while more than 260,000 government workers have been bought out, taken early retirement or been fired. But the DOGE tallies have been riddled with errors, according to reviews by numerous budget experts and media outlets, including Reuters. That has made them difficult to verify, and some of the announced cuts are not saving the government any money because judges have reversed or stalled them. That leaves the Treasury Department's daily reports on how much the government is spending as the clearest window into the scope of the administration's cost-cutting. The view they offer so far is modest: The government has spent about $250 billion more during the first months of Trump's administration than it did during the same period of time last year, a 10% increase. And even some parts of the government Trump has cut the most deeply are, for now at least, spending more money than they did last year. One big factor driving costs is largely outside Trump's immediate control: interest payments on the United States' growing pile of debt, which amount to about $1 in every $7 the federal government spends. Debt interest payments are up about 22% from a year ago. Spending on Social Security, the safety-net program for the elderly and disabled, totaled about $500 billion since Trump's inauguration, up 10% from a year earlier. To be sure, the view offered by the Treasury Department's daily reports is incomplete. Many of the cuts DOGE has made to the federal workforce, grants and contracting will reduce what the government will spend in the future but do not show up in its checkbook today. For example, while thousands of workers have taken buyouts, the government will continue to pay their wages until October. So far, the Labor Department has estimated there were only about 26,000 fewer people on federal payrolls in April than were on the books in January, after adjusting the figures for typical seasonal swings. Tallying savings from future cuts, however, is seldom straightforward. "It could be that in the future we never replace these workers and we save billions of dollars, or it could be that they come back and it's even more expensive than before," said Martha Gimbel, executive director of the Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan budget analysis organization at Yale University. The White House declined to offer an explanation for DOGE's figures. Spokesman Harrison Fields said in a statement that "DOGE is working at record speed to cut waste, fraud, and abuse, producing historic savings for the American people." Reuters estimated the administration's impact by tallying outlays at agencies that had been targeted for cuts and whose spending had dropped from the same time last year. Among the agencies hardest hit are the Department of Education, State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other independent agencies. Rachel Snyderman, an expert on fiscal policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, said the spending declines at agencies could be reversed if the Trump administration doesn't get congressional approval to cancel outlays from this year's federal budget, as required by law. AN $11 BILLION EDUCATION CUT The most obvious sign that the Trump administration is making a dent in federal spending is in the Education Department, which Trump has ordered shut down. The administration cut the department's staff by about half in March. DOGE's website lists 311 Education Department grants and contracts it says it has eliminated for a savings of about $1.6 billion, though it is not clear how it arrived at those figures. Some cuts have not stuck. A federal judge in March ordered the administration to restore some of the grants it had cut, and another judge this month ordered it to rehire 1,400 workers. Still, the Education Department under Trump has spent close to $11 billion less than it did over the same period last year, the Treasury reports show, far more than what DOGE says it has cut. One reason could be that layoffs have made it harder for the government to process payments for special education and low-income schools. School districts that have sued over the cuts alleged that states were already experiencing slowdowns in receiving money. Another factor for the reduced outlays: The department has stopped handing out the $4.4 billion that remains to be distributed from the hundreds of billions of dollars approved in previous years to help schools weather the COVID-19 crisis. The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment. OTHER AREAS DOGE HAS CUT Other agencies targeted in Trump's overhaul are also starting to show declines in their spending compared with the same time last year. Spending is down about $350 million at the CDC and about $1 billion at the National Institutes of Health. The Trump administration has moved to slash spending across those agencies, cancelling grants and ending leases for office space. The Department of Health and Human Services has reported terminating close to 2,000 grants that planned to disperse more than $20 billion. Many of the grants were to boost labs that fight new infectious diseases, or to fund state mental health programs. Some $14 billion of the grant money had already been spent prior to the termination, with roughly $7 billion effectively frozen, according to a Reuters analysis of the government's tallies. The administration has effectively dismantled USAID, which handled most U.S. foreign assistance, firing nearly all of the agency's employees and cancelling most of its humanitarian aid and health programs, though federal courts have forced the government to continue making some payments. USAID spending is down about 40%, to about $4.6 billion, from last year. Spending at the State Department – where DOGE says it has cut nearly $1 billion in grants and contracts – is also down about 20% from 2024. WHY WE CAN'T KNOW MORE Measuring the impact of the administration's actions is difficult because many cuts will not yield savings for months or years even as spending elsewhere increases. Spending on federal employee salaries, for example, is up by more than $3 billion under Trump. Some of the grants and contracts DOGE cut were due to be paid out over several years, and many remain the subject of lawsuits that will determine whether they can be cut at all. DOGE says it has saved taxpayers $175 billion, but the details it has posted on its website, where it gives the only public accounting of those changes, add up to less than half of that figure. It says the figure includes workforce cuts, interest savings and other measures it has not itemized. It is also hard to know exactly how much the government would have spent if the administration had not started cutting. (Reporting by Brad Heath, Jason Lange and Andy Sullivan in Washington and Grant Smith in New York, Editing by Ross Colvin and Matthew Lewis)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said China had violated an agreement on tariffs with the United States. "China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. U.S. trade talks with China were "a bit stalled" and getting a deal over the finish line will likely need the direct involvement of President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Thursday. Two weeks after breakthrough negotiations that resulted in a temporary truce in the trade war between the world's two biggest economies, Bessent said progress since then has been slow, but said he expects more talks in the next few weeks. The U.S.-China agreement to dial back triple-digit tariffs for 90 days prompted a massive relief rally in global stocks. But it did nothing to address the underlying reasons for Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model, leaving those issues for future talks. (Reporting by Susan Heavey, Katharine Jackson; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

President Donald Trumpis holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel, which he says will keepthe iconic American steelmaker under U.S.-control.ICE, the agencytasked with carrying out Trump's mass deportation campaign is undergoing a major staff reorganization.The White House says its fixing errorsin a much-anticipated federal reportled by Health and Human Services SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr.decrying America's food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs. And billionaireElon Muskfaces big challenges as he leaves Washington after an Oval Office appearance Friday afternoon. Each of his numerous businesses havetheir own set of issues. Here's the Latest: Trump's big plans on trade and more run up against laws of political gravity, separation of powers On Wednesday, an obscure but powerful court in New Yorkrejected the legal foundation of Trump's most sweeping tariffs, finding that Trump could not use a 1977 law to declare a national emergency on trade imbalances and fentanyl smuggling to justify a series ofimport taxesthat have unsettled the world. Reordering the global economy by executive fiat was an unconstitutional end-run around Congress' powers, the three-judge panel of Trump, Obama and Reagan appointees ruled in a scathing rebuke of Trump's action. The setbacks fit a broader pattern for a president who has advanced an extraordinarily expansive view of executive power. The laws of political gravity, the separation of powers and geopolitical realities are proving to be tougher to conquer than Trump will publicly admit. As various legal skirmishes play out, he may have to choose between bowing to the limits of his power or trying to ignore the judicial system. ▶ Read more onreality checks on Trump's assertions of authority Trump's latest pardons benefit an array of political allies and public figures A governor who resigned amid a corruption scandaland served two stints in federal prison. A New York Republican whoresigned from Congress after a tax fraud convictionand who made headlines for threatening to throw a reporter off a Capitol balcony over a question he didn't like.Reality TV stars convicted of cheating banksand evading taxes. FILE - Todd Chrisley, left, and his wife, Julie Chrisley, pose for photos at the 52nd annual Academy of Country Music Awards on April 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are in prison after being convicted on federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, are challenging aspects of their convictions and sentences in a federal appeals court.(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) All were unlikely beneficiaries this week of pardons, with Trump flexing his executive power to bestow clemency on political allies, prominent public figures and others convicted of defrauding the public. The moves not only take aim at criminal cases once touted as just by the Justice Department but also come amid a continuing Trump administration erosion of public integrity guardrails, including thefiring of the department's pardon attorneyand thenear-dismantling of a prosecution unitestablished to hold public officials accountable for abusing the public trust. ▶ Read moreabout Trump's pardons Trump has long warned of a 'deep state.' Now in power, he's under pressure to expose it Four months into his second term, Trump has continued to stoke dark theories involving his predecessors and other powerful politicians and attorneys — most recently raising the specter of nefarious intent behind former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen to sign papers. The administration has pledged to reopen investigations and has taken steps to declassify certain documents, including releasingmore than 63,000 pages of recordsrelated to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Yet many of Trump's supporters say it's not enough. Some who take him at his word are beginning to get restless as they ask why his administration, which holds the keys to chasing down these alleged government secrets, is denying them the evidence and retribution they expected. His Justice Department has not yet arrested hordes of "deep state" actors as some of his supporters had hoped it would, even as the president has been posting cryptic videos and memes about Democratic politicians. ▶ Read moreabout Trump and the "deep state" Trump holding Pennsylvania rally to promote deal for Japan-based Nippon to 'partner' with US Steel Trump is holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel, which he says will keepthe iconic American steelmaker under U.S.-control. Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker's bid to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, he changed course andannounced an agreement last weekfor what he described as "partial ownership" by Nippon. It's not clear, though, if the deal his administration helped broker has been finalized or how ownership would be structured. Trump stressed the deal would maintain American control of the storied company, which is seen as both a political symbol and an important matter for the country's supply chain, industries like auto manufacturing and national security. U.S. Steel has not publicly communicated any details of a revamped deal to investors. Nippon Steel issued a statement approving of the proposed "partnership" but also has not disclosed terms of the arrangement. ▶ Read moreabout the deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump's tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices, while American incomes jumped. Friday'sreportfrom the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in March and the lowest since September. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier, below the March figure of 2.6%. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed. The figures show inflation is still declining from its post-pandemic spike, which reached the highest level in four decades in July 2022. Economists andsome business executiveshave warned that prices will likely head higher as Trump's widespread tariffs take effect, though the timing and impact of those duties are now in doubt after they werestruck down late Wednesdayincourt. The inflation-fighters at the Federal Reservesaid at their most recent meetingMay 6-7 that inflation is still elevated, compared to their target of 2%. Fed officials, who focus more on core prices, broadly support keeping their key interest rate steady while they evaluate the impact of the tariffs on inflation and jobs. Thecourt rulinglast Wednesday said that most of Trump's tariffs were unlawful, including his duties on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, as well as those on more than 50 other countries. Tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars were implemented under different laws and remain in place. But the duties were allowed to remain in effect while the Trump administration appeals the ruling against them. And administration officials say they will find other legal authorities, if needed, to implement the tariffs. As a result, what tariffs will end up in place and for how long remains highly uncertain.

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 14 people in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Friday, while Hamas was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal after giving it an initial cool response. President Donald Trump's Mideast envoy had expressed optimism this week aboutbrokering an agreementthat could halt the Israel-Hamas war, allow more aid into Gaza, and return more of the 58 hostages still held by Hamas, around a third of whom are alive. Experts say a nearly three-month Israeli blockade of Gaza —slightly eased in recent days— has pushed the population of roughly 2 million Palestiniansto the brink of famine. Israel's war in Gaza has killed around 54,000 Palestinians, mostlywomen and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The war began with Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which left around 1,200 dead. Here's the latest: At least 14 dead in Gaza strikes, medics say Hospital officials and paramedics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 14 people and wounded others. Officials at Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza said the bodies of 12 people, including three women, were brought Friday from the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the bodies of two people as well as nine others who were wounded were taken to Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City. It said one of the wounded is a doctor who works at the same hospital. Hamas reviewing a new ceasefire proposal Hamas said Friday it was reviewing a new Israeli-approved ceasefire proposal. The White House said Thursday that Israel accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas. Hamas officials, however, gave the draft a cool response, saying that it seeks to perpetuate Israel's policies of killing and starving people in Gaza. Still, the group said it was going to thoroughly review it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to end the war until all the hostages are released and Hamas is either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages for a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Netanyahu undergoes a routine colonoscopy Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent a routine colonoscopy on Friday morning in Jerusalem, his office said. The office did not provide further information about whether Netanyahu was moderately sedated or under general anesthesia for the procedure. Netanyahu, 75, underwentsuccessful surgery in Decemberto have his prostate removed. Netanyahu has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a healthy, energetic leader, as he manages multiple crises including thewar in Gazaand histrial for alleged corruption, despite a series of recent health setbacks.

PresidentDonald Trumpannounced Paul Ingrassia, who is currently a White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, as his pick to head the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. "Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security," Trump wrote in aTruth Social poston May 29. He graduated from Cornell Law School in 2022 and worked at a law firm for 10 months, according to hisprofile on LinkedIn. The Office of Special Counsel investigates and prosecutes allegations of prohibited personnel practices (PPPs) of federal employees and applicants, especially retaliation for whistleblowing. The office also investigates allegations of wrongdoing within the executive branch and enforces the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activity by government employees. In a post on X, Ingrassia wrote that he would make "every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch — with priority on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal workforce and revitalize the Rule of Law and Fairness in Hatch Act enforcement." The previous occupant of the position, Hampton Dellinger, was fired by Trump in February. He sued to keep his job, and while a federal judge initially issued a temporary restraining order blocking Trump, aU.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuitissueda rulingclearing the way for his firing. Dellinger ended his legal battle against Trump on March 6. In February, Dellinger wrote in a statement that the mass firings of probationary employees led by the Department of Government Efficiencyappear illegal. He asked a specialized labor board to pause the terminations of six employees in six different federal agencies so the watchdog organization could investigate. Dellinger wrote in a statement that the terminations appear "contrary to a reasonable reading of the law," particularly the law about reductions in force. Federal law generally requires 60 days' notice for a reduction in force and prohibits probationary employees from being fired for reasons unrelated to performance or conduct. Ingrassia also briefly served as the White House liaison for the Department of Justice shortly after Trump returned to office in January. But he was reassigned to DHS after pushing to recruit candidates showing "exceptional loyalty" to Trump, and his efforts sparked clashes with Attorney GeneralPam Bondi's top aide, Chad Mizelle, ABC News reported in February. Contributing: Erin Mansfield This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Paul Ingrassia picked to head U.S. Office of Special Counsel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump praised Elon Musk on Thursday and said he will hold a press conference with the billionaire, whose tenure in the administration is ending, on Friday at 1:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT) in the Oval Office. "This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Elon is terrific!" Musk announced he was stepping down from his White House stint on Wednesday, givingTeslainvestors some succor after shares slumped this year in part due to the backlash to his support of Trump and right-wing parties in Europe. The billionaire spearheaded Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency, charged with cutting federal spending. On Tuesday, Musk criticized the price tag of Republicans' tax and budget legislation making its way through Congress. In addition, he had recently pledged to spend less money on politics after he plunked down nearly $300 million on Trump's presidential campaign and on other Republican candidates last year. (Reporting by Jasper Ward, Costas Pitas and David Shepardson; editing by Chris Sanders)

(Reuters) -U.S. federal authorities are investigating an effort to impersonate White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The report said Wiles had told associates that some of her cellphone contacts had been hacked, allowing the impersonator to access private phone numbers. The incident affected her personal phone, not her government phone, the report said. The Journal reported that in recent weeks, senators, governors, top U.S. business executives and other figures received messages and calls from a person who claimed to be Wiles, citing the people familiar with the messages. The White House and FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The White House has struggled with information security. A hacker who breached the communications service used by former Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz earlier this month intercepted messages from a broad swathe of American officials, Reuters reported recently. And late last year, a White House official said the U.S. believed that an alleged sweeping Chinese cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon targeted and recorded telephone calls of "very senior" American political figures. As Wiles is a key Trump lieutenant and a lynchpin of the White House's operation, the content of her personal phone would be of extraordinary interest to a range of foreign intelligence agencies and other hostile actors. Wiles has reportedly been targeted by hackers at least once before, in the final months of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. At the time, hackers alleged by U.S. authorities to be acting on behalf of Iran approached journalists and a political operative with a variety of messages sent to and from Wiles, some of which were eventually published. (Reporting by Costas Pitas and Raphael Satter; Editing by Michael Perry and Sonali Paul)

By Emily Green MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Falling investment, slowing growth, and the changing whims of U.S. President Donald Trump have led Mexico to support an early review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, a sharp U-turn on its previous plan to hold off for as long as possible. Three Mexican officials told Reuters the shift was due in part to the need to gain some longer-term certainty around the country's trade relationship with its largest export market. But they said it was also key that Trump appeared to want an earlier review, because the U.S. president holds better cards and trying to keep on his good side has been a core Mexican strategy that has shown positive results. Mexico's Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said this week he expects the review's "formal start" to begin as soon as September, despite being scheduled in the agreement for 2026. It is clear that Trump has more leverage, said Juan Carlos Baker, Mexico's former chief negotiator for USMCA. "If he believes Mexico is not playing ball, you might be risking he will one day show up and announce the U.S. is exiting the agreement altogether," he said. Mexico is looking for any clarity it can find. The uncertainty over trade rules has already impacted its economy. Foreign direct investment in the first quarter of the year fell 21% compared to the same period last year, according to figures from Mexico's Central Bank. Some of that may be related to business community jitters about Mexico's judicial reform. Still, uncertainty over tariffs has played a significant role. On Wednesday, the central bank cut its GDP forecast for this year to just 0.1%. The International Monetary Fund prediction is even worse at -0.3%. "Uncertainty kills investment," said Emilio Romano, president of Mexico's Bankers Association, noting that 40% of Mexico's GDP is U.S.-dependent. Mexico's reliance on the U.S. makes the USMCA negotiations almost existential to the country's economy and a huge priority for Sheinbaum. Over 80% of total Mexican goods exports go to the U.S. and free trade with its northern neighbor drove Mexico to overtake China as the U.S.'s top trading partner and turned it into one of the world's largest auto manufacturers. Mexican officials are worried enough about angering Trump that they have held off signing an updated trade agreement with the European Union for fear it could jeopardize trade talks with the U.S., according to one European official. UNRELIABLE NEGOTIATIONS Mexico had originally wanted to wait as long as possible before opening talks on USMCA, so it could first resolve bilateral issues like the tariffs imposed due to fentanyl trafficking and migration, and so U.S. consumers would begin to feel inflationary pressures from Trump's tariffs. That approach tallies with Canada's, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying this week he wanted to make progress on bilateral issues with the U.S. before opening talks on USMCA. Amid the uncertainty, Ebrard and his deputy Luis Rosendo Gutierrez have for months been almost constantly shuttling between Mexico and Washington, to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a billionaire investor, and Jamieson Greer, a former Air Force officer who is Trump's top trade official. "It's important to be in Washington just to take care of any issues that can come suddenly to the table. And it's important to be present," said a Mexican official familiar with the negotiations. "We are taking care of our place in relative terms with other countries." But negotiations with the Trump administration can be unreliable. In April, as the screwworm parasitic fly threatened to decimate Mexico's billion-dollar cattle market, officials reached an agreement that the U.S. would not close its border to livestock in exchange for Mexico doing more to fight the pest. Just 11 days later, the U.S. abruptly shut the border anyway, catching frustrated Mexican officials flat-footed. The question mark hovering over USMCA's future has overshadowed victories by Mexico's negotiating team, including convincing the Trump administration to suspend tariffs on USMCA-compliant auto parts. "We left intensive care. Now we are in intermediate care," said Francisco Gonzalez, executive director of Mexico's National Auto Parts Association. Until the USMCA review is complete, he said new investment is "pretty much suspended, basically on standby." (Reporting by Emily Green; additional reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by David Gregorio)

By Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump would have the power to retaliate against countries that impose special digital service taxes on large U.S. technology companies like Amazon and Alphabet, under a provision in the sweeping tax bill that Congress is considering. "If foreign countries want to come in the United States and tax US businesses, then those foreign-based businesses ought to be taxed as well," said Representative Ron Estes, a Kansas Republican who helped craft the provision. Some 17 countries in Europe and others around the world impose or have announced such taxes on U.S. tech products like Meta's Instagram. Germany announced on Thursday it was considering a 10% tax on platforms like Google. The levies have drawn bipartisan ire in Washington. Democrats who oppose much of the tax bill have not spoken out against the retaliatory tax provision, found in Section 899 of the 1,100-page bill. Trump has been pressing foreign countries to lower barriers to U.S. commerce. Under the bill, Congress would empower his administration to impose tax hikes on foreign residents and companies that do business in the U.S. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to decide on taxes and spending. The provision could raise $116 billion over the next decade, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. But some experts warned that an unintended consequence of retaliatory taxes could be less foreign investment in the U.S. "This new Section 899 provision brings a sledgehammer to the idea that the United States will allow itself to be characterized as a tax haven by anyone," said Peter Roskam, former Republican congressman and head of law firm Baker Hostetler's federal policy team. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the bill on May 22, and it now heads to the Senate. Democrats broadly oppose the Republicans' tax and spending bill, which advances many of Trump's top priorities such as an immigration crackdown, extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts and ending some green energy incentives. Section 899 would allow the Treasury Department to label the foreign tech taxes "unfair" and place the country in question on a list of "discriminatory foreign countries." Some other foreign taxes also would be subject to scrutiny. Once on the list, a country's individuals and its companies that operate in the U.S. could face stiffer tax rates that could increase each year, up to 20 percentage points. Joseph Wang, chief investment officer at Monetary Macro, said Section 899 could help Trump reduce trade imbalances because if foreign investment decreases it could depreciate the U.S. dollar. This in turn could spur exports of U.S. products by making them cheaper overseas. Portfolio interest would remain exempt from any tax Trump imposes, but some experts cautioned that taxing foreigners could quell foreign investment in the U.S. "Foreign investors may change their behavior to avoid the taxes in various ways, including potentially by simply investing elsewhere," said Duncan Hardell, an advisor at New York University's Tax Law Center. PUSH BACK TO GLOBAL MINIMUM TAX The new approach follows the 15% minimum global corporate tax deal negotiated by the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden. Republicans, led by Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, chairman of the House tax committee, opposed that approach, arguing it unfairly benefits Chinese companies. Foreign countries have invoked that global minimum to slap higher taxes on U.S. tech firms, if they concluded that generous U.S. tax credits for research and development pushed their tax burden below that 15% threshold. Trump in February directed his administration to combat foreign digital taxes, but they were not addressed in the trade deal announced in May between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, which imposes a 2% levy on foreign digital services. It was unclear if the Treasury Department would actually use the new authority if it becomes law, or if the mere threat of action would convince other countries to change course. The department did not share its intended strategy when asked. (Reporting by Bo Erickson; editing by Andy Sullivan and David Gregorio)

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'mNicole Fallert. Ask a friendif they can spell"éclaircissement." An appeals court allowed President Donald Trumpto keep tariffswhile an appeal plays out. Former government workersare running for public office— and winning. A Swiss glacier collapsedin a dramatic displayof the impact of climate change. The Trump administration won temporary reprieve Thursday after an appeals court ruled the White House can keep up tariffs while challenging a court order that had blocked them. Trade whiplash: The quick reversal came a day after the United States Court of International Trade invalidated Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose tariffs. The administration quickly appealed and won a short-term break.Trump attacked the judges who blocked his tariffs, a ruling later temporarily paused on appeal, and blamed a conservative legal group for giving him bad advice on judicial picks. No tariff on Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog:Adding to the mix, a second federal court blocked Trump tariffs Thursday — this time for Illinois companies that import Spike, among other kids' toys. White House officials have vowed to keep pressing the issue in court.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the Trump administration expects the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the issue. Itir Cole tried to take some time off after quitting her job with the federal government early in the Trump administration. Then her husband mentioned offhand that there was an open seat on her New Jersey town's governing body. No one else like her was running, so she did — and won her mid-May race by 49 votes. Cole is among a flood of federal workers looking to run for public office.Many say they want to continue serving Americansafter leaving the government either voluntarily or through mass layoffs, as Trump dramatically downsizes the federal workforce. As the summer months approach,lightning activitywill soon ramp up. Tariffs and AIhave altered the job marketfor 2025 grads. Heavy smoke is expected to hit the U.S.as dangerous Canadian wildfiresforce evacuations. The White House blamed"formatting" for errors in RFK Jr.'s MAHA report.Authors pushed back. Public housing failed miserably in Chicago.Why is the city now opening a housing museum? What's the weather today?Check your local forecast here. A Boston federal judge said at a hearing Thursday that she planned to issue a preliminary injunction that blocks the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll foreign exchange students. The comments from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs came as the Trump administration attempted to walk back its May 22 directive that immediately revoked Harvard's participation in a federal exchange student program.Students from around the worldattended commencementat the Ivy League on the same day as the hearing. America's birth rate has been on a steady decline since 2007, and pronatalists − both in and outside the White House − are determined to raise it. But when partners struggle to conceive, the burden is rarely distributed evenly between men and women. Fertility experts say we're missing a key component of the conversation – male infertility. Experts say male and female infertility factors often coexist, yet a high number of men do not undergo testing before their female partner begins IVF.Advocates saycharacterizing fertility solely as a woman's issueis part of a "broader cultural misunderstanding." Exploring the gulfbetweenMartin Luther King Jr. and Donald Trumpin a divided nation. Beyoncéfulfilled a fan's requestwith an onstage gender reveal. The internet has thoughtsabout Sydney Sweeney's bathwater. Paige DeSorbois sippinga Dunkin' pink refresher. Who is "Mia"?Why you won't see photosof Diddy's ex-personal assistant during trial. Air traffic controller staffing has been a major issue for the Federal Aviation Administration for years. As a result, it's been a major issue for travelers, too, even if it's not always as top of mind for the average passenger when there are delays. According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the FAA is short about 3,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, but those shortages aren't spread evenly throughout the system.This map showsthe disparity between staffing in different facilities across the country. Reuters reports that 90% of Blatten, Switzerland, is engulfed by ice, mud and rock after a glacier collapsed on a nearby mountain.These photos capturehow the disaster unfolded. Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY,sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Daily Briefing: Trade whiplash

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Friday that he had held another call with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as the EU and the United States continue efforts to reach a deal on tariffs. "Another call with U.S. Secretary @howardlutnick. Our time and effort fully invested, as delivering forward-looking solutions remains a top EU priority. Staying in permanent contact," wrote Sefcovic on X. The EU wants to see an end to 25% tariffs on steel and cars and for Trump to drop his so-called "reciprocal" tariff, which was provisionally set at 20% for the EU but is being held at 10% during a 90-day pause until July. Sefcovic said earlier this week in Dubai that the European Commission was in talks with Washington on possible cooperation in sectors such as aerospace, steel, semiconductors and critical minerals. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Tomasz Janowski)

When news broke thatDonald Trumphad been the target of an assassination attempt at a campaign rally last summer, Martin Luther King Jr.'s son was among the voices that decried the violence. "Political violence has no place in our society and country," Martin Luther King III wrote ina poston X. "It undermines the foundations of our democracy." 'This is America':For more stories on race and justice in America, sign up for USA TODAY's newsletter The second child of the country's most prominent civil rights icon knows all too well the cost of political violence. When he was 10, his father was murdered on a Tennessee balcony and became part of a group of leaders, activists and Democratic politicians, assassinated in the 1960s. "If President Kennedy and Medgar Evers and Malcolm X, Dad and Robert Kennedy had lived, we would be on a totally different trajectory," King said. "These were people who were all cut down at a very critical time, not just in our nation, but in terms of where they were moving toward." Last July, Trump sustained an injury when the would-be assassin's bullet grazed his ear. He went on to win the election and resume the presidency. He shared his 2025 Inauguration Day with Martin Luther King Jr., whose life and legacy are celebrated each January witha federal holiday. Yet Kinghas saidthere is a great gulf between his father and the president. He lamented the country's current trajectory in an interview with USA TODAY. "By and large, in our nation, there is a goodness, a righteousness, a desire to care about our fellow human being," King said. "We're on a course that appears to be temporarily out of kilter. We must, at some point, make a course correction." Martin Luther King Jr. often spoke of creating "the beloved community," a society in which "men can live together without fear," as he wrote in a1966 essay. Today, his 67-year-old son says building that community is a crucial and ongoing effort. He has a dedicated partner in his wife, Arndrea Waters King, president of the Drum Major Institute, a nonprofit founded by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1961. The pair launched the Realize the Dream initiative last year, a national movement with a goal of inspiring 100 million hours of service by January 2029. King and Waters King, together with brothers Marc and Craig Kielburger, released a book titled "What is My Legacy?" and an accompanying podcast called "My Legacy." The Kings sat for a video interview with USA TODAY on May 19, a follow-up to conversations with the publication in 2024 in the lead up to a contentious presidential election. In August, Waters King told USA TODAY she felt the country was"frighteningly divided."Four months into Trump's second term, she said that is still the case. Opinion:Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered 57 years ago. America still needs his wisdom. "When you think about most immigrants that are frightened, in some cases for children to go to school. Schools, churches, hospitals – those should all be safe places and times," Waters King said. "Whenever you start othering people, taking out their humanity, then we're going down a slippery slope." Amid strife, King said he looks to the example set by his father, who faced threats to his life throughout the years of his political activism. In 1958, during a book signing in New York City, Martin Luther King Jr.was stabbedby Izola Curry, a woman later diagnosed with schizophrenia. "After he was stabbed," King said of his father, "he still came back and advocated for forgiveness, for challenging us to create a better climate." "So," he added, "I guess what I'm saying is, I'm sure many people are concerned about the potential of political violence. But we need to reflect on, well, what do we do so that political violence does not manifest and come to fruition? What can each of us do?" Days into his new term,President Trumpsigned an executive ordercalling for government filesrelated to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and King Jr. to be released "without delay." The King family hasobjected to the release, saying they want a chance to review files before they become public. JFK files released:Here's what they say about the former president's assassination Descendants of the civil rights icon have declined to speak in interviews, including this recent sit-down with USA TODAY, on their concerns about the files. They have said it is adeeply personalsubject. When asked how he feels broadly about the lifelong spotlight that came as a result of his father's prominence, King told USA TODAY, "It's my life. This is what I know." "Certainly, it's always easier to navigate through life without having recognition," he continued. "But I'm grateful, really, for the opportunity to foster this amazing legacy that we have. And probably more grateful and thankful that we have a daughter that wants to be engaged, is engaged." King and Waters King have one daughter, Yolanda Renee King, 17, named after King's late sister. Legacy is the throughline in the Kings' work, as they look past the next four years and even generations ahead. In considering how they hope to be remembered, both said they are steadily building on a foundation set by King's mother and father. "We all have a legacy. We all have a voice," Waters King said. "It's literally about what we do, how we build our lives every day." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:MLK III and his wife pursue unity in Trump's America

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong's prominent pro-democracy and LGBTQ+ activist Jimmy Sham was released from prison on Friday after serving overfour yearsin the city'sbiggest national security caseunder a Beijing-imposed law. Sham's activism made headlines during 2019 anti-government protests, when he was the convenor of a now-disbanded pro-democracy group that organized some of the biggest peaceful marches that year, including one that drew an estimated 2 million people. Sham was among 47 activists arrested in 2021 for their roles in anunofficial primary election. He was sentenced with 44 other activists last year afterjudges ruledthat their plans to effect change through the primary would have undermined the government's authority and create a constitutional crisis. Only two of the original defendants were acquitted. Even behind bars, Sham continued tofight for recognition of his same-sex marriageregistered overseas at the city's top court, which later ruled the government should provide a framework for recognizing same-sex partnerships. It wasa landmark decisionfor the city's LGBTQ+ community. "I feel happy. No matter whether there's a change in (my) freedom, I am definitely freer compared to yesterday," Sham told reporters Friday after he was reunited with his family. "But I also know many people are suffering. This makes me feel I shouldn't be too happy." Asked if police had warned him not to talk to anyone, he said he censored himself on some sensitive questions. Sham also sounded unsure whether he was a free man. "Maybe tomorrow, you still can see me, I am free. Maybe tomorrow, I will go back to the jail. I don't know," he said. The activist said he has no plans to leave Hong Kong for now. "So what I can do in the future and what I should, and where the red line lies, I still have to figure it out again." Sham and three other activists freed on Friday — Kinda Li, Roy Tam and Henry Wong — are the second batch to be reunited with their families, followingthe release of four pro-democracy lawmakerslast month. The years of separation havepained the activists and their relatives. The case involved democracy advocatesacross the spectrum. They include legal scholar Benny Tai, who got a 10-year prison term, and former student leaderJoshua Wong, who has to serve four years and eight months. Critics said the national security law has effectively crushed the city's pro-democracy movement, but Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist it brought back stability to the city.

By Laurie Chen BEIJING (Reuters) -Caught in the middle of Washington's renewed visa crackdown on Chinese international students, Beijing postgraduate Lainey is anxiously waiting to resume the visa process to study a PhD at her dream school, the University of California. "We feel helpless and unable to do anything," said the 24-year-old sociology student, who declined to give her surname for privacy reasons. "The situation in North America this year is not very good. From applying for my PhD until now, this series of visa policies is not very favourable to us. But we have no choice but to wait." The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it would not tolerate the "exploitation" of American universities or theft of U.S. research and intellectual property by Beijing. Spokesperson Tammy Bruce did not elaborate on how many Chinese students would be affected by a new plan announced on Wednesday to "aggressively" revoke visas. The visa crackdown is the latest in a series of moves targeting the international student community, especially Chinese nationals, who make up roughly 1 in 4 of all international students in the U.S., as the Trump administration pursues its hardline immigration agenda. If applied to a broad segment of the 277,000 Chinese students already at U.S. colleges, the visa revocations could disrupt a major source of income for universities and a crucial pipeline of talent for U.S. technology companies. Chinese students make up 16% of all graduate science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) students in the United States. DEFER ENROLMENT? The announcement on Chinese student visa holders came after the Trump administration ordered its missions worldwide to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants. If the visa appointment system is not resumed soon, Lainey wishes to defer enrolment for a year. "Although everyone says the U.S. admissions system may be biased against Chinese students, in reality U.S. schools are indeed the top in terms of academic quality," she said. "I may also consider (applying to) some places outside the U.S., such as Europe, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore." The measures are a sign of the increasing spillover from a bruising trade war between the two global superpowers, and threaten to derail a fragile truce reached mid-May in Geneva. A Friday editorial by China's state-owned Global Times newspaper said the new visa measures raised "the spectre of McCarthyism" and likened them to an "educational witch-hunt". "In recent years, the suppression of Chinese students has increasingly become an important part of the U.S. strategy to contain China," the commentary said. Potentially even more damaging than the immediate economic impact for the U.S. could be a long-term erosion of the appeal of U.S. universities and the subsequent brain drain. International students - 54% of them from India and China - contributed more than $50 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. "If I really have to wait until 2026 to reapply, I might not have such positive feelings towards America," said Lainey. "If I can't even get a visa, then I'd have no choice but to go somewhere else." (Reporting by Laurie Chen; Additional reporting by Tiffany Le; editing by Sophie Walker)