Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The last time Russia agreed to a ceasefire, it didn’t go well: “Trump touted a three-day ceasefire this afternoon — though it doesn’t involve Iran. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Russia and Ukraine will enact a three-day ceasefire beginning Saturday to celebrate Victory Day, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s 1945 triumph over Nazi Germany during World War II.”
* As a rule, ceasefires aren’t supposed to have quite so much firing: “The United States said it attacked military sites in Iran on Thursday in retaliation for ‘unprovoked Iranian attacks.’ The strikes came amid a tenuous month-old cease-fire and officials’ statements that the two countries were discussing a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the American blockade on Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command said in a statement that Iranian missiles, drones and small boats had attacked three American destroyers in the strait, but that U.S. forces had ‘eliminated inbound threats.’”
* Earlier this week, Donald Trump boasted, “Consumer confidence is way up.” Reality suggests otherwise: “Surging gas prices due to the Iran war sent consumer sentiment to a new low in the early part of May, according to a University of Michigan survey Friday.”
* The administration suffers an important loss in court, Part I: “A federal court ruled Thursday against the new global tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court. A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued.”
* The administration suffers an important loss in court, Part II: “The Trump administration violated a court order from last year that strictly limited instances in which the government can make immigration arrests in the District of Columbia without a warrant, a federal judge found on Thursday.”
* The administration suffers an important loss in court, Part III: “A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Thursday that the Trump administration’s choice to cut more than $100 million in grants for humanities programs amounted to a ‘a textbook example of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination’ and found the cuts made by President Donald Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency unlawful. The ruling awarded a victory to advocacy groups and grant recipients who brought the suit.”
* A fascinating and intensifying story: “A clash between a federal judge in Rhode Island and a Trump administration lawyer continued to escalate on Thursday, as the judges in the district appointed a special counsel to investigate potential misconduct by the lawyer, Kevin Bolan, who leads the civil division of the district’s U.S. attorney’s office.”
* Trump was asked Thursday whether Americans should be concerned about the hantavirus outbreak. “I hope not,” he replied. “We’ll do the best we can.” Feel safer?
* In related news: “The deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a Dutch-operated cruise ship with passengers of 23 nationalities is precisely the type of public health crisis the World Health Organization is designed to tackle. But the U.S. formally left the WHO in January, after 78 years of membership.”
* The sooner it’s closed, the better: “Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged Thursday that Florida may soon shutter ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ the immigration detention center built in the middle of the Everglades that had been a centerpiece of state and federal efforts to fulfill President Donald Trump’s deportation promises.”
Have a safe weekend.
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