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.”








