“President Donald Trump’s drive to use an 18th-century law to rapidly expel alleged Venezuelan gang members suffered another legal setback Friday as the Supreme Court extended its block on deporting dozens of men in immigration detention in northern Texas. The court emphasized that the men — whom the Trump administration has labeled ‘alien enemies’ — are entitled to more due process than the administration has so far provided. That means advance notice of their deportations and a meaningful opportunity to challenge the deportations in court, the justices wrote in an unsigned opinion.” (05/16/25)
“U.S. President Donald Trump verbally thrashed Walmart on Saturday following the retailer’s announcement this week that it expects to raise prices on some goods as a result of tariffs imposed by the White House. On his social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that Walmart should ‘STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain’. ‘Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!’ he wrote. On Thursday, leaders at Walmart said that they will have to raise prices in response to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration even after lowered duties on Chinese imports were announced.” (05/17/25)
“The House Budget Committee rejected President Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ Friday after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and his leadership team were unable to bring several Republican opponents on board with the measure. It’s a major setback for Johnson and President Trump on the marquee tax and spending cut legislation, which the speaker said he wants to pass by Memorial Day. The panel rejected the bill in a 16-21 vote.” (05/16/25)
“One of the country’s top infectious disease experts, Dr. Anthony Fauci, called out anti-science sentiments and conspiracy theories during his commencement speech at the University of San Francisco. Fauci, who served as President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor for almost two years before resigning in December 2022, spoke Friday morning during the USF’s College of Arts and Sciences ceremony. After receiving a standing ovation when reaching the podium, he said he believes the country is currently seeing a rise of misinformation and stressed the importance of evidence-based science. ‘A significant anti-science element has emerged that is now quite vocal and dominating certain segments of our society, even at the highest levels,’ Fauci said. ‘This segment troubles me greatly because it promotes the denigration of scientific evidence and data, and with that comes the undermining of the foundation of our social order.'” (05/16/25)
“The scandal-plagued prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been compelled to step down, pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, the court announced Friday. [Karim] Khan has categorically denied the allegations against him. … The Associated Press reported the court said in a statement that Khan on Friday ‘communicated his decision to take leave until the end’ of an external investigation that will be carried by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, the U.N. internal watchdog. That same report said that women’s rights groups welcomed the move, who had called for him to step down after the allegations emerged last year, but Khan initially resisted leaving.” (05/16/25)
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has requested 20,000 National Guard troops to help with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, a DHS official confirmed to The Hill Thursday. … A Defense official also told The Hill that the Pentagon ‘received a request’ this week but was not able to share the contents because planning is in the initial stages and predecisional. … It is unknown what role National Guard members would take in the immigration crackdown, such as whether they would be involved in rounding up and [abducting] people for deportation or just transportation or security. It’s also unclear whether state governors would have to approve the plan or if President Trump would move to federalize the National Guard to take control of its troops.” (05/15/25)
“The United Nations has said it will not take part in a US-backed humanitarian operation in Gaza because it is not impartial, neutral or independent, as Israel pledged to facilitate the effort without being involved in aid deliveries. ‘This particular distribution plan does not accord with our basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality, independence, and we will not be participating in this,’ deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters on Thursday. The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation will start work in Gaza by the end of May under a heavily criticised aid plan that the UN aid chief Tom Fletcher described as a ‘fig leaf for further violence and displacement’ of Palestinians in Gaza.” ()5/15/25)
“Walmart is preparing to raise prices in the US as soon as this month, as its own costs increase as a result of the new tariffs on imports imposed by President Donald Trump. The plans by the world’s largest retailer come as White House announcements in recent weeks have resulted in most goods from around the world facing new import taxes of at least 10%, with products from China facing higher duties of at least 30%. Reporting to investors on the firm’s performance on Thursday, chief executive Doug McMillon said he was grateful that the Trump administration had, for now, suspended plans for more aggressive levies. But he said that his firm was still likely to raise prices to cover the new costs.” (05/15/25)
“Donald Trump has said that ‘nothing is going to happen’ on a Russia-Ukraine peace deal until he and Vladimir Putin meet, damping expectations for talks between Russian and Ukrainian ministers due in Turkey. The US president’s comments threatened to thrust the latest peace efforts into disarray, as Russian and Ukrainian negotiators were set to meet for the first time since 2022. … Trump had previously said he was open to taking a detour for the talks in Turkey, but decided not to after the Russian president made clear in the eleventh hour that he would not attend.” (05/15/25)
“The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week, but job opportunities are becoming more scarce for those out of work as economic uncertainty from tariffs discourages businesses from boosting hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits held steady at a seasonally adjusted 229,000 for the week ended May 10, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 229,000 claims for the latest week. Claims have moved in a 205,000-243,000 range this year, consistent with a historically low level of layoffs.” (05/15/25)
