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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* An increasingly serpentine story on tariffs: “Just after 3 p.m. Thursday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a brief order granting the Trump administration’s request to pause an earlier ruling that voided several of the president’s tariffs. As a result, those tariffs have been reinstated for now. The businesses challenging the tariffs have until June 5 to respond, while the administration has until June 9 to file any reply, the appeals court said.”
* The latest on Trump’s political war against Harvard: “A federal judge on Thursday extended a temporary order blocking the Trump administration’s revocation of Harvard’s ability to enroll international students. The extension came after the Trump administration said it would give the university 30 days to challenge the revocation, according to a letter attached to a Wednesday night court filing.”
* All is not well at the FAA: “A wave of staff departures is under way at the Federal Aviation Administration. Resignations and retirements are building across the agency, potentially affecting divisions that oversee everything from air traffic to legal matters and space launches, according to FAA documents and people close to the discussions.”
* A new Covid variant: “The World Health Organization announced last week that it was monitoring the variant, NB.1.8.1, following a rise in cases in several parts of the world, including Europe, Southeast Asia and North and South America. The variant appears to be more transmissible than the dominant strain worldwide, LP.8.1, meaning it has the potential to drive up cases this summer.”
* In related news: “The Department of Health and Human Services is pulling millions of dollars it had committed to give Moderna to aid the effort to develop a vaccine to combat the bird flu in humans, the company announced Wednesday.”
* Speaking of fights over science: “Sixteen states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, asking a federal court to block cuts in programs and funding for the National Science Foundation that they argue are critical to maintaining the United States’ position as a global leader in science, technology, engineering and math. The states sought the court order on grounds that the foundation’s actions violated the law and would cause immediate and irreparable harm to the states involved in the lawsuit.”
* Reasonable questions: “Democratic senators on Wednesday asked a top Trump administration official for details on the salaries of President Donald Trump’s political appointees and raised questions about the administration’s urging of agency leaders to max out the amount of taxpayer dollars allowed for these jobs while ignoring the standard hiring process.”
* Trump’s FBI vs. Trump’s intelligence agencies: “An F.B.I. intelligence memo unsealed on Wednesday offers new details on why the bureau concluded that some Venezuelan government officials were likely to have had some responsibility for a criminal gang’s actions in the United States, pitting it against other intelligence agencies in a heated dispute over President Trump’s use of a wartime law.”
See you tomorrow.