Trump says he’ll double steel tariffs to 50 percent. Here’s a recap from Friday.

By the Associated Press

An appeals court on Friday refused to freeze a California judge’s order halting the Trump administration from downsizing the federal workforce, which means that DOGE-led cuts remain on pause for now.

The Republican administration had sought an emergency stay of an injunction issued by U.S. Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco in a lawsuit brought by labor unions and cities, including San Francisco and Chicago.

The judge’s order questioned whether Trump’s administration was acting lawfully in trying to pare the federal workforce.

Trump has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate to remake the federal government, and he tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead the charge through the Department of Government Efficiency.

Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, have left their jobs via deferred resignation programs or have been placed on leave. There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation, and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go.

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By the Washington Post

A computer scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency who monitored insider threats became one himself, prosecutors alleged, attempting to trade classified information for citizenship in a friendly country because of disagreements with the Trump administration.

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, was arrested Thursday and charged with gathering defense information to aid a foreign government, an Espionage Act offense. He did not successfully establish contact with the nation, but court documents say he sent an email offering to provide classified records.

The country is not identified in court filings. Two people familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post it was Germany, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing case.

“I do not agree or align with the values of this administration and intend to act to support the values that the United States at one time stood for,” Laatsch wrote in one message, according to an FBI affidavit. “To this end, I am willing to share classified information that I have access to, which are completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation.”

U.S. officials were tipped off to Laatsch’s outreach in March, and an FBI agent posing as a foreign official communicated with Laatsch over several weeks, arranging for him to drop off classified materials in a park in Arlington County, Virginia, just outside Washington, according to court records.

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By the New York Times

Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, condemned the Trump administration’s decision to end temporary protected status for Afghan immigrants.

In a joint letter to the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, the senators asked for the reinstatement of the program that allowed the Afghans a work permit and legal status in the United States.

“This decision endangers thousands of lives, including Afghans who stood by the United States,” they wrote in the letter, sent on Friday. “This decision represents a historic betrayal of promises made and undermines the values we fought for far more than 20 years in Afghanistan.”

President Trump has also canceled the protected status of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who fled instability and political violence back home, potentially leaving them vulnerable to deportation.

By the New York Times

In 1987, when Haipei Shue arrived in the United States as a student, he recalls receiving the warmest of welcomes. He was a graduate student in sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“People were curious about us, inviting us to their homes, wanting to be friends,” Shue said Thursday, describing an openness that defined his early years in a country then seen by many in China as a beacon of opportunity.

“It was an extraordinary time,” he said.

That era of academic exchange between China and the United States, beginning in the 1970s under President Carter as a form of soft power diplomacy, now stands in sharp contrast to the Trump administration’s recent stance toward the country.

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By the Associated Press

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon accused the state of discriminating against a school district that refuses to get rid of its Native American chief mascot and could face a Justice Department investigation or risk losing federal funding.

McMahon said during a visit to Massapequa High that her agency determined that the state violated federal civil rights law by banning the use of Native American mascots and logos.

The department’s civil rights office deemed it discriminatory because names and mascots derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the “Dutchmen” and the “Huguenots,” are still permitted.

McMahon said the state will have 10 days to sign an agreement rescinding its ban and apologizing to Native Americans.

State education department spokesperson JP O’Hare dismissed her visit as “political theater” and said the district is doing a “grave disservice” by refusing to consult with local tribes.

“These representatives will tell them, as they have told us, that certain Native American names and images perpetuate negative stereotypes and are demonstrably harmful to children,” he said.

By the Associated Press

The president said the higher 50% rate takes effect June 4.

“This will be yet another BIG jolt of great news for our wonderful steel and aluminum workers,” he said on his social media platform after his rally in Pennsylvania.

By the Associated Press

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday he canceled $3.7 billion in grants, another massive blow to clean energy and greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts under the Trump administration.

The grants, largely awarded during former President Joe Biden’s final few months, were primarily for programs to capture carbon emissions and store them underground. Other efforts concern cleaner cement, natural gas and more.

Some of the 24 grants were $500 million for Heidelberg Materials US Inc.; $375 million for Eastman Chemical Company; $95 million for Nevada Gold Mines LLC; and $270 million for Sutter CCUS, according to a list provided by the Department of Energy. Sublime Systems, which lost an $87 million grant, said it was “surprised and disappointed.”

Conrad Schneider, a senior director at the Clean Air Task Force, said the cancellations are “bad for U.S. competitiveness in the global market” and contradict “the administration’s stated goals of supporting energy production and environmental innovation.”

By the Associated Press

Amid a battle with the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, the president is falsely claiming that Harvard offers “remedial mathematics” on topics such as simple addition.

CLAIM: “Harvard announced two weeks ago that they’re going to teach remedial mathematics, remedial, meaning they’re going to teach low grade mathematics like two plus two is four. How did these people get into Harvard? If they can’t, if they can’t do basic mathematics, how did they do it?”

THE FACTS: Harvard does not offer a remedial math class covering basic arithmetic. Asked whether Trump was referring to a specific class, a White House spokesperson provided information about Mathematics MA5, introduced in fall 2024 as a new format for an existing course that offers extra support in calculus. The original course — Mathematics MA — is still offered.

James Chisholm, a spokesperson for the university’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, said Harvard “does not offer any so-called remedial math classes” and “Math MA5 is a college-level calculus class.”

By the Associated Press

The president wrapped up his speech in Pennsylvania by thanking steelworkers for their decadeslong contributions in helping build the country’s military equipment and cities.

“With the help of patriots like you, we’re going to produce our own metal, unleash our own energy, secure our own future, build our country, control our destiny,” he said. “We are once again going to put Pennsylvania steel into the backbone of America like never before.”

By the Associated Press

Earlier the president was joined onstage by three current and former Pittsburgh Steelers, including Steelers Hall of Honor running back Rocky Bleier, who gave Trump a Steelers jersey, No. 47 with Trump’s name on the back. Bleier called Trump a “hall of fame president” and an honorary Steeler.

Also coming up onstage were quarterback Mason Rudolph and safety Miles Killebrew, who said to the crowd, “How ‘bout this president?”

Trump, referencing the Steelers’ unsettled quarterback situation, said of Rudolph: “I have a feeling he’s going to be the guy.”

The crowd then broke out in chants of “Here we go Steelers.”

By the Associated Press

Trump was joined by several U.S. Steel workers including Jason Zugai, the vice president of the United Steelworkers local union at the Irvin finishing plant that defied the international union in supporting Nippon Steel’s bid to buy U.S. Steel.

Zugai, whose father lost his job in a steel mill years earlier, lobbied local officials and members of Congress to support the deal, believing that U.S. Steel would otherwise shut down its Pittsburgh-area plants eventually.

In his remarks, Zugai told Trump, “I knew you wouldn’t let us down.” He called Nippon Steel’s proposed $14 billion in investments “life changing.”

Nippon Steel’s $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel was blocked by then-President Joe Biden on national security grounds before Trump — who had said he would block the transaction, too — changed his mind.

By the Associated Press

The president has not said whether the deal between Japan-based Nippon and U.S. Steel has been finalized, and there are no details on how much control U.S. Steel will retain. But he nonetheless hailed it as “an incredible deal for American steelworkers.”

Trump said all steelworkers would keep their jobs, there would be no layoffs and all facilities would remain open. He also said every U.S. Steel worker will soon receive a $5,000 bonus.

He said currently operating blast furnaces will remain at full capacity for at least 10 years.

“You’re not going to have to even think about that. Frankly it won’t matter, because they’re going to be here for a long time, a lot longer than that,” Trump said.

By the Associated Press

The president said he’s going to double the tariff rate on steel to 50 percent, a dramatic increase that could further push up prices for a metal used to make housing, autos and other goods.

Trump was speaking at US Steel’s Mon Valley Works–Irvin Plant in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, to announce investments by Japan’s Nippon Steel.

The price of steel products has increased roughly 16 percent since he became president, according to the government’s producer price index.

By the Associated Press

The president made the remark at a rally in Pennsylvania to celebrate a deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in US Steel.

Trump said jobs in Pittsburgh’s iron and steel mills were obliterated. He said the country was getting army tanks, boats and ships produced in China.

“The strong steel industry is not just a matter of dignity or prosperity or pride,” he said. “It’s, above all, a matter of national security.”

By the Associated Press

The president told a friendly crowd inside the steel fabrication plant that he was there “to celebrate a blockbuster agreement that will ensure this storied American company stays an American company.”

Trump told the workers there is “a lot of money coming your way” and said, “You’re going to stay an American company. You know that, right?”

He thanked Nippon Steel’s chief negotiator Takahiro Mori, without getting into any details of the deal. He also thanked members of his cabinet and Republican lawmakers in attendance.

By the Associated Press

Elon Musk’s effort to dramatically cut government spending is expected to fall far short of his grand early pronouncements, and perhaps even his most modest goals.

According to experts across the ideological spectrum, a major problem was a failure to deploy people who understood the inner workings of government to work alongside his team of software engineers and other high-wattage technology talent.

Even that might not have achieved Musk’s original target of $2 trillion, which is roughly the size of the entire federal deficit.

Musk, whose last day spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency is Friday, slashed his goal for savings from $2 trillion to $1 trillion to finally only $150 billion.

The current results put Musk’s efforts well short of President Bill Clinton’s initiative to streamline the federal bureaucracy, which saved the equivalent of $240 billion by the time his second term ended. The effort also reduced the federal workforce by more than 400,000 employees.

By the Associated Press

The president has arrived in Pennsylvania for a rally in suburban Pittsburgh.

The president disembarked Air Force One under a large umbrella and waved to reporters but did not offer any comments before climbing into his motorcade.

Trump is set to speak shortly about a details-to-come deal between US Steel and Japan-based Nippon Steel.

By the Associated Press

The president’s pick to lead a federal watchdog agency is a former right-wing podcast host who has praised criminally charged influencer Andrew Tate as a “extraordinary human being” and promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged.

If confirmed by the US Senate, Paul Ingrassia would lead the Office of Special Counsel, an agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers that is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers.

In a social media post, Trump called Ingrassia a “highly respected attorney, writer and Constitutional Scholar.” Ingrassia was most recently working as the White House liaison for Homeland Security after briefly serving in the liaison position at the Justice Department.

Ingrassia called his nomination the “highest honor.”

Ingrassia has also promoted the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

By the Associated Press

PBS filed suit against the president and other administration officials to block his order stripping federal funding from the 330-station public television system, three days after NPR did the same for its radio network.

In its lawsuit, PBS relies on similar arguments, saying Trump overstepped his authority and engaged in “viewpoint discrimination” because of his claim that PBS’ news coverage is biased against conservatives.

“PBS disputes those charged assertions in the strongest possible terms,” lawyer Z.W. Julius Chen wrote in the suit. “But regardless of any policy disagreements over the role of public television, our Constitution and laws forbid the President from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.”

It is the latest of many legal actions against the administration for its moves, including several by media organizations impacted by Trump’s orders.

By the Associated Press

Workers, supporters of the president and others streamed into a massive warehouse on the grounds of the Irvin finishing plant in Pennsylvania, to hear him speak about a details-to-come deal with Japan-based Nippon.

Stands were flanked with giant American flags hanging from the ceiling, and a banner read, “The Golden Age.”

Trump has pitched it as a partnership in which Nippon will have “partial ownership” of an enterprise that will keep the iconic American steelmaker under US control. However, Nippon Steel has not said it is backing off its intention to buy the company outright for $14.9 billion.

Trump is holding the rally at a plant where local United Steelworkers union leaders broke with the international union to support the deal out of fear that the plant could close otherwise.

Workers say there is some split among unionized employees over the deal, but they like Nippon’s pledges to invest in the aging plant.

By the Associated Press

Trump said that he will no longer be “Mr. NICE GUY” with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an agreement with the United States.

Hours later, Trump said in the Oval Office that he will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping and “hopefully we’ll work that out,” while still insisting China had violated the agreement.

What deal Trump was referring to was not clear. But the rhetoric was a sharp break from recent optimism when he lowered his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days to allow for talks. China also reduced its taxes on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.

“The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US,” Trump posted. “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

By the Associated Press

Former president Joe Biden delivered the first remarks since he announced he had an aggressive form of prostate cancer Friday, speaking in a steady voice during a somber Memorial Day gathering and later smiling and saying he’s “feeling good.”

Biden spoke at an annual gathering marking Memorial Day at Veterans Memorial Park in his home state of Delaware, not far from his home in Wilmington. The event coincided with the 10th anniversary of his son Beau’s death. It also comes amid renewed questions about Biden’s mental and physical health after the recent publication of a book about his fitness for office.

Speaking to reporters after the Memorial Day event, he said he was already undergoing treatment for cancer, which entailed taking a pill, he said.

“The expectation is we’re gonna be able to beat this,” he said. “I’m feeling good.”

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By the Associated Press

A US diplomat at the United Nations says the United States supports Ukraine’s right to defend itself from Russia’s invasion.

Political adviser Anton Jongeneel said Russia called a U.N. Security Council meeting about Ukraine on Friday “to advance the claim that European countries, by providing assistance to Ukraine, are ‘undermining’ efforts to restore peace.”

“That is not the case. Ukraine, as a sovereign country, has the right to defend itself from aggression,” Jongeneel said.

He said Ukraine is ready to accept an immediate ceasefire and that Russia is the obstacle.

“We share the concern expressed by other members of this Council that Russia could be uninterested in peace and instead bent on achieving a military victory,” Jongeneel said. said.

He urged China, North Korea and others to stop supplying weapons or troops to fuel the war.

By the Associated Press

The tech billionaire who dominated administration briefings early in the term didn’t even get to answer a question about his own company at his farewell press conference.

Trump answered most of the questions and at the end even took one that was addressed to Musk, about the impact of his tariffs on Tesla.

The president praised Musk for assembling most of his autos in the United States, but noted that several parts are still imported both by Tesla and its competitors. He said that’ll stop.

“You build a car,” Trump said, “make it in America.”

And then the joint appearance was over. It was clear who remains at center stage.

By the Associated Press

“I don’t think Harvard has been acting very nicely,” Trump said before praising Columbia and other schools that have yielded to demands by the Trump administration as a pre-condition for restoring federal funding.

Trump accused Harvard of “trying to be a bigshot” by suing his administration to stop the freeze of more than $2 billion in grants.

By the Associated Press

The tech billionaire stood in the oval office for more than 30 minutes with a visible black eye before a reporter was able to ask him directly about it.

Initially Musk quipped that he wasn’t “anywhere near France,” a reference to video of President Macron being pushed in the face by his wife.

Then Musk said he was “just horsing around” with his 5-year-old son, named X, “and I said ‘go ahead and punch me in the face.’”

It turns out, he said, that even a 5-year-old can give you a black eye.

By the Associated Press

Trump and Musk have taken questions on an odd assortment of topics — from colonizing Mars to the possibility of a presidential pardon for Diddy.

Asked about pardoning Sean “Diddy” Combs, Trump responded, “Nobody’s asked. But I know people are thinking about it.”

The reporter acknowledged that his question was fodder for gossip columnists. But Trump took it seriously, as he did other strange queries.

The president didn’t commit one way or the other on Combs’ case, nothing, “I haven’t seen him, I haven’t spoken to him in years” but also adding, “I would certainly look at the facts.”

Trump has pardoned several high-profile supporters lately. But he insisted that Combs’ politics wouldn’t sway him.

“If I think somebody was mistreated — whether they like me or the don’t like me — it wouldn’t have any impact on me,” Trump said.

By the Associated Press

Trump said he spoke with French President Emanuel Macron after his wife appeared to push him as their plane landed in Vietnam.

Video captured Macron’s wife, Brigitte, pushing her husband away with both hands on his face. The couple later claimed they were just playfighting.

Asked if he had any advice for Marcon, Trump said: “Make sure the door remains closed. That was not good.”

Trump said that Macron was doing “fine” and “they’re two really good people.”

By the Associated Press

Musk got a softball question about what would be tougher – colonizing Mars or cutting government spending.

“It’s a tough call,” Musk replied.

He then began to detail how difficult it was to get his arms around government spending and cut it.

By the Associated Press

“I hope to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like,” Musk said at Friday’s news conference.

“I hope so,” Trump cut in before Musk said he hopes to still achieve $1 trillion in federal spending cuts over time.

By the Associated Press

“They’re very close to an agreement on Gaza, and we’ll let you know about it during the day or maybe tomorrow,” Trump told reporters.

Trump’s optimistic outlook comes after the White House announced Thursday that Israel has accepted a new U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire with Hamas. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Israel “backed and supported” the new proposal.

Hamas officials, however, gave the Israeli-approved draft a cool response, but said they wanted to study the proposal more closely before giving a formal answer.

By the Associated Press

Musk says his government cost-cutting team was unfairly blamed for actions it never took.

He complained that about any efforts to reduce the size of government “people would assume that was done by DOGE.”

Musk added that his Department of Government Efficiency team became essentially “the DOGE bogeyman.”

By the Associated Press

President Trump gave Musk what appeared to be a gold-colored key for his work establishing the “Department of Government Efficiency,” which sought to layoff federal workers and close government agencies to achieve cost savings.

Trump said that he would only bestow this gift to “very special people” and that it was a “presentation from our country.”

By the Associated Press

Musk likened his work in cutting the size of government to a personal form of Buddhism, saying it will continue to permeate through the government even after he’s left his post.

“It’s a way of life,” Musk said.

He also promised to continue visiting the White House and “be a friend and adviser to the president.”

Musk said that, even in his absence, his team would continue to try and cut the size of government – despite greatly exaggerating the cost savings and fiscal impact of his team’s work so far.

By the Associated Press

Trump said that even though Musk is formally departing the administration he will still be involved.

“He’s going to be back and forth, I imagine,” Trump said.

Trump noted that DOGE employees will remain embedded with government agencies and said the billionaire will probably want to keep tabs on “his baby.”

Musk himself followed the president’s oval office remarks by saying he’d be back in “this amazing room.” He praised Trump’s gold leaf additions and renovations of the fabled space.

By the Associated Press

Trump listed examples of what he called “countless wasteful and unnecessary contracts” that DOGE has cancelled, including Education Department diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; temporary housing for migrants in New York City and “social and behavioral change” in Uganda.

“We are totally committed to making the DOGE cuts permanent,” he said.

While Trump celebrated DOGE’s slashing of federal government contracts, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk accomplished far less than he hoped. He dramatically reduced his target for cutting spending — from $2 trillion to $1 trillion to $150 billion — and increasingly expressed frustration about resistance to his goals.

By the Associated Press

Trump is terminating the head of the National Portrait Gallery, continuing his aggressive moves to reshape the federal government’s cultural institutions.

Trump announced Friday on his Truth Social platform that he was ousting Director Kim Sajet, calling her a “highly partisan person, and a strong supporter of DEI, which is totally inappropriate for her position.”

Sajet, a Dutch citizen raised in Australia, was appointed to the post in 2013 by President Barack Obama. She had previously served as president of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania..

Trump has repeatedly criticized the national network of museums and cultural centers as leftist and anti-American. Earlier this spring, he ousted the leadership of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, dismissing the chairman and president and replacing most of the board with loyalists, who then voted Trump the new chairman.

In early May, he abruptly dismissed Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden.

By the Associated Press

Trump kicked off his Oval Office press conference with Musk with some warm words for the billionaire Tesla CEO.

“Today it’s about a man named Elon,” Trump said.

He praised Musk’s “very great talents” and said that he’d led “the most sweeping and consequential” efforts to slash the federal workforce and reduce the size of government.

Trump added to Musk, “We’ll remember you” while announcing more cuts in the future.

But Trump also lamented that the process was taking a long time: “Sadly, it takes a long time.”

Musk wore a black baseball cap reading “DOGE” and offered brief comments like “yeah” and other words of agreement to Trump’s comments.

By the Associated Press

During a news conference, Trump celebrated an appeals court decision made Thursday that allowed him, for now, to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law.

“The tariffs are so important,” he said. “That’s why were were so happy with the decision yesterday where the tariffs continued. Because without the tariffs, our nation would be imperiled.”

By the Associated Press

Musk’s status as a special government employee is expiring. He says he’s stepping back from politics to spend more time running his embattled companies.

His DOGE initiative fell vastly short of the $2 trillion the tech mogul initially promised to save. It did gut some agencies like USAID, the United States’ main foreign aid arm.

Former USAID global health chief Atul Gawande and researchers at Boston University estimate that disease and malnutrition deaths from the cuts will be in the hundreds of thousands in the first year alone.

By the Associated Press

Ernst was fielding another question on potential changes to Medicaid eligibility at a town hall in north-central Iowa on Friday when she quipped that “we all are going to die.”

She had largely kept her cool as shouts and groans emerged from the crowd at a high school in Parkersburg, Iowa, as she defended President Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and immigration package. But as she talked through the types of people that Republicans say should not be covered by Medicaid, including immigrants in the US illegally, someone in the crowd yelled that people are going to die.

“People are not ... well, we all are going to die,” Ernst said as the crowd booed. “So, for heaven’s sakes. For heaven’s sakes, folks.”

“What you don’t want to do is listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable,” Ernst went on. “Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid we will protect.”

By the Associated Press

In a response to the earlier post by President Trump, the Chinese embassy in Washington said the two sides “have maintained communication over their respective concerns in the economic and trade fields on various bilateral and multilateral occasions at multiple levels” since the Geneva talk.

But the embassy also said the Chinese government had “repeatedly raised concerns with the U.S. regarding its abuse of export control measures in the semiconductor sector and other related practices.”

“China once again urges the US to immediately correct its erroneous actions, cease discriminatory restrictions against China and jointly uphold the consensus reached at the high-level talks in Geneva,” the embassy said.

By the Associated Press

Biden used his first public remarks since his office announced his diagnosis with an aggressive form of prostate cancer to honor his late son, Beau, and other military veterans.

The Democrat spoke in a loud steady voice as he addressed an annual gathering in honor of Memorial Day at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware, not far from his home in Wilmington.

“This day is the 10th anniversary of the loss of my son Beau, who spent a year in Iraq, and, to be honest, it’s a hard day,” Biden said. “Being with all of you, quite frankly, makes things a little bit easier, it really does. So, thank you for allowing me to grieve with you.”

Biden called upon the group to remember the sacrifices of those lost in battle, whose echoes he said can still be heard urging citizens to “stay true to what America stands for.”

“They’re not asking us to do their jobs,” he said. “They’re asking us to do our job, to protect our nation, in our time, now, to defend democracy, be part of something bigger than ourselves.”

By the Associated Press

The major indexes aren’t moving much as companies navigate the challenges created by Trump’s on-and-off tariffs.

Despite stronger than expected quarterly profit and revenues, shares in Gap fell nearly 20% after the clothing retailer said import taxes could cost it up to $300 million this fiscal year.

Investors worry that Trump’s policies could grind the economy into a recession, slash companies’ profits and layer even more challenges on households already sick of inflation. Stocks rallied after Trump paused his tariffs on China and the European Union. A US court then on Wednesday blocked many of Trump’s sweeping tariffs. But the White House is appealing, so uncertainty continues.

Trump briefly shook markets Friday y posting a fresh threat against China, “So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!” But its impact seems limited, and futures for U.S. stock indexes quickly pared their losses.

By the Associated Press

Kennedy himself announced the changes in a 58-second video posted on X on Tuesday. CDC officials referred questions to Kennedy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Thursday’s website update says the shots “may” be given to children ages 6 months to 17 years who do not have moderate or severe immune system problems, if parents decide to get their children vaccinated in consultation with a doctor.

This kind of “shared decision-making” guidance means health insurers must still pay for the vaccinations, according to the CDC, but experts say vaccination rates tend to be lower. Already, just 13% of children and 23% of adults have received the 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data.

A CDC advisory panel is set to meet in June to make recommendations about the fall shots. Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine advocate before becoming health secretary, decided not to wait.

By the Associated Press

The nation’s top public health agency posted new recommendations that say healthy children “may” — not should — get COVID-19 vaccinations.

The change comes days after US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.

The updated guidance on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website does not speak to any change in recommendations for pregnant women, which was heavily criticized by medical and public health experts.

CDC and HHS officials did not immediately respond to questions about the new guidance.

By the Associated Press

Senators, governors, business executives, and other prominent figures reportedly received messages from someone impersonating Susie Wiles.

A White House official said Friday that the cybersecurity of its staff is taken seriously and the matter is under investigation. The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The FBI did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that the text messages and phone calls appeared to be from someone who gained access to the contacts in Wiles’ personal cellphone, but did not come from her number. As a co-manager of Trump’s campaign before taking on the lynchpin role in his new administration, Wiles has amassed a powerful network of contacts.

Recipients heard a voice that sounded like Wiles that may have been generated by artificial intelligence, or received text messages they initially thought were official White House requests, according to the report.

By the Associated Press

Justice Jackson echoed what US District Judge Indira Talwani wrote in ruling that ending the legal protections early while a legal challenge continues in Boston would leave people with a stark choice: flee the country or risk losing everything. Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, found that revocations of parole can be done, but on a case-by-case basis.

The Justice Department argues that the protections were always meant to be temporary, and the Department of Homeland Security has the power to revoke them without court interference. Taking on each case individually would be a “gargantuan task,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued.

Biden used humanitarian parole more than any other president, employing a special presidential authority in effect since 1952. Beneficiaries included the 532,000 people who have come to the United States with financial sponsors since late 2022, leaving home countries fraught with “instability, dangers and deprivations,” as attorneys for the migrants said.

By the Associated Press

The Supreme Court again cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants, pushing the total number of people who could be newly exposed to deportation to nearly 1 million.

By the Associated Press

The Department of Homeland Security’s list puts these cities, counties and states on notice that the administration sees them as standing in the way of the president’s mass deportations agenda.

There is no specific or legal definition of what constitutes a “sanctuary jurisdiction.” DHS says each one will receive formal notification of noncompliance with immigration enforcement, including any criminal violations. Trump’s executive order then tasks federal agencies with suspending or terminating federal grants or contracts with jurisdictions on the list.

“These sanctuary city politicians are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release.

By the Associated Press

The president is blaming his many courtroom losses on the Federalist Society, which recommended judicial nominees to him during his first term.

Trump’s Thursday social media post specifically targets “a real ‘sleazebag’ named Leonard Leo,” who was formerly a vice president of the Federalist Society and leads conservative political groups.

Trump says judges are to blame for blocking his policies on tariffs, deportations and cuts to university funding and federal worker layoffs.

“The ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade is so wrong, and so political!” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY. Backroom ‘hustlers’ must not be allowed to destroy our Nation! The horrific decision stated that I would have to get the approval of Congress for these Tariffs.”

By the Associated Press

Defense Secretary Hegseth told reporters before he boarded his plane for Singapore that Washington’s policies are meant to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

“We seek no conflict with anybody, including the Communist Chinese,” Hegseth said. “We will stay strong for our interests. And that’s a big part of what this trip is all about.”

The Trump administration has threatened China with triple-digit tariffs. But there’s some uncertainty in the region over how committed the US is to the defense of Taiwan, which also faces possible 32% American tariffs. Trump has taken more of a transactional approach to diplomacy and seems wary of foreign engagements.

China claims the self-governing democracy as its own, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking it by force. China sends military aircraft, ships and spy balloons every day to harass Taiwan, and has an aircraft carrier in the waters southeast of the island.

By the Associated Press

The French President says nations risk a dangerous double standard. His remarks Friday night in Singapore come as the US considers withdrawing troops from Europe. He says abandoning Ukraine would eventually erode US credibility in deterring any potential conflict with China over Taiwan, as Russia also seeks to destabilize Asia.

Macron and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are among the world leaders, diplomats and top defense officials at the Shangri-La security forum focusing on China’s growing assertiveness, the global impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the flare-up of conflicts in Asia.

In its published Indo-Pacific strategy, France asserts the need to “preserve a rules-based international order” in the face of “China’s increasing power and territorial claims” and its global competition with the United States. And in remarks to reporters, Macron said there’s room in Asia for more than just the two superpowers.

By the Associated Press

Friday’s Commerce Department report shows consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April from the year before, down from 2.3% in March and the lowest since September.

Excluding 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. Inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve said at their most recent meeting that inflation remains elevated above their target of 2%.

Economists and some business executives have warned that prices will likely rise as Trump’s widespread tariffs take effect, though the timing and impact of those duties are now in doubt after they were struck down late Wednesday. The court ruling ruled unlawful Trump’s duties on imports from Canada, Mexico, China and more than 50 other countries. But they remain in place pending appeals.

By the Associated Press

Trump declared that he’ll no longer be “Mr. NICE GUY” with China on trade.

He said the country had broken an agreement with the United States. It’s unclear what agreement Trump was referring to in his post on Truth Social.

But the president’s rhetoric was a sharp break from the optimism expressed recently when Trump lowered his 145% tariffs on Chinese goods to 30% for 90 days so that talks could happen.

Trump said the tariff reduction had “quickly stabilized” the economy. But he then said “that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!”

By the Associated Press

When Elon Musk announced that he was leaving the administration earlier this week, Trump was conspicuously quiet. But now the two men are scheduled to appear together 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 wrote on Truth Social on Thursday evening. “Elon is terrific!”

The event is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET.

Musk is leaving his job having accomplished far less than he set out to do, although his tumultuous tenure will likely leave a lasting mark on the federal government.

By the Associated Press

• 1:30 p.m. - Trump holds a press conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office
• 3:25 p.m. - Trump travels to Pennsylvania for his rally
• 5:00 p.m. - Trump holds a rally and deliver remarks on US Steel deal
• 6:35 p.m. - Trump travels back to the White House

By the Associated Press

The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs.

Kennedy’s wide-ranging “Make America Healthy Again” report, released last week, cited hundreds of studies, but a closer look by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not actually exist.

Asked about the report’s problems, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the report will be updated.

Kennedy has repeatedly said he would bring “radical transparency” and “gold-standard” science to the public health agencies. But the secretary refused to release details about who authored the 72-page report, which calls for increased scrutiny of the childhood vaccine schedule and describes the nation’s children as overmedicated and undernourished.

Leavitt said that the White House has “complete confidence” in Kennedy.

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By the Associated Press

On Wednesday, an obscure but powerful court in New York rejected 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 of import taxes that 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.

By the Associated Press

A governor who resigned amid a corruption scandal and served two stints in federal prison. A New York Republican who resigned from Congress after a tax fraud conviction and 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 banks and evading taxes.

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 the firing of the department’s pardon attorney and the near-dismantling of a prosecution unit established to hold public officials accountable for abusing the public trust.

By the Associated Press

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 releasing more than 63,000 pages of records related 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.

By the Associated Press

President Trump is holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in US Steel, which he says will keep the iconic American steelmaker under US-control.

Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker’s bid to buy Pittsburgh-based US Steel, he changed course and announced an agreement last week for 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.

US 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.

By Danny McDonald, Globe Staff

It was an unmistakable aspect of the crowd filing off the first ferry of the day shortly after 7 a.m.: tradesmen in construction boots or paint-smattered pants. Some wore sweatshirts advertising HVAC and plumbing services.

Others gripped lunch bags and picked up their toolboxes from checked-baggage containers on a wharf slick with rain. One group chatted in Spanish.

They are not here to check out the Nantucket Whaling Museum or to order a $46 lobster roll. They’re here to work.

It’s fair to assume, some locals say, that some in that crowd are immigrants, a population that represents a linchpin of the island’s economy, and one that has become increasingly fearful under President Trump’s dramatic push to arrest and deport more immigrants.

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By The New York Times

Floyd Brown, a longtime right-wing activist, said Thursday that he had been fired from the Kennedy Center because of his views on same-sex marriage.

Brown said in a long post on the social platform X that he was fired Wednesday by Richard Grenell, whom President Trump appointed as the interim leader of the center in February after he began imposing his grip on it. Brown said his dismissal happened about two hours after CNN contacted him for comment on his past statements on homosexuality and marriage.

The Kennedy Center did not announce the appointment of Brown, a vocal Trump supporter. He said in a LinkedIn post this month that he had started working at the center as vice president of development. The executive in that position leads the department responsible for raising millions of dollars for the center.

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By Tonya Alanez, Globe Staff

Boston, Cambridge, Providence, and Portland, Maine were among the municipalities, counties, and states throughout New England and the nation, identified as “lawless” sanctuary jurisdictions deliberately flouting federal immigration laws, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

“Sanctuary politicians are on notice: comply with federal law,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement Thursday evening.

A list of dozens of localities in 36 states, including all six states in New England, was released with the statement.

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By the Associated Press

President Trump is holding a rally in Pennsylvania on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in US Steel, which he says will keep the iconic American steelmaker under US-control.

Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker’s bid to buy Pittsburgh-based US Steel, he changed course and announced an agreement last week for 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.

READ MORE