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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Fri May 30 2025

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Ask a friend if they can spell "éclaircissement."

Close out the week with Friday's news:

•	An appeals court allowed President Donald Trump to keep tariffs while an appeal plays out.
•	Former government workers are running for public office — and winning.
•	A Swiss glacier collapsed in a dramatic display of the impact of climate change.

Illinois toys and Trump's tariff reprieve

The Trump administration won temporary reprieve Thursday after an appeals court ruled the White House can keep up tariffs while challenging a court order that had blocked them.

Trade whiplash: The quick reversal came a day after the United States Court of International Trade invalidated Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose tariffs.

•	The administration quickly appealed and won a short-term break. Trump attacked the judges who blocked his tariffs, a ruling later temporarily paused on appeal, and blamed a conservative legal group for giving him bad advice on judicial picks.
•	No tariff on Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog: Adding to the mix, a second federal court blocked Trump tariffs Thursday — this time for Illinois companies that import Spike, among other kids' toys.
•	White House officials have vowed to keep pressing the issue in court. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the Trump administration expects the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve the issue.

Former federal workers are running for public office

Itir Cole tried to take some time off after quitting her job with the federal government early in the Trump administration. Then her husband mentioned offhand that there was an open seat on her New Jersey town's governing body. No one else like her was running, so she did — and won her mid-May race by 49 votes. Cole is among a flood of federal workers looking to run for public office. Many say they want to continue serving Americans after leaving the government either voluntarily or through mass layoffs, as Trump dramatically downsizes the federal workforce.

Former federal employee Itir Cole is sworn in at the Haddonfield Municipal Borough Hall in May 2025.

Cole for Commissioner campaign

More news to know now

•	As the summer months approach, lightning activity will soon ramp up.
•	Tariffs and AI have altered the job market for 2025 grads.
•	Heavy smoke is expected to hit the U.S. as dangerous Canadian wildfires force evacuations.
•	The White House blamed "formatting" for errors in RFK Jr.'s MAHA report. Authors pushed back.
•	Public housing failed miserably in Chicago. Why is the city now opening a housing museum?

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Trump temporarily backs down on Harvard international student ban

A Boston federal judge said at a hearing Thursday that she planned to issue a preliminary injunction that blocks the Department of Homeland Security from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll foreign exchange students. The comments from U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs came as the Trump administration attempted to walk back its May 22 directive that immediately revoked Harvard's participation in a federal exchange student program. Students from around the world attended commencement at the Ivy League on the same day as the hearing.

A graduating student wears their hat, decorated with a statement of support for international students, during the 374th Commencement exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Thursday.

Brian Snyder, REUTERS

The White House wants women to have more babies. They're ignoring part of the problem — men.

America's birth rate has been on a steady decline since 2007, and pronatalists − both in and outside the White House − are determined to raise it. But when partners struggle to conceive, the burden is rarely distributed evenly between men and women. Fertility experts say we're missing a key component of the conversation – male infertility. Experts say male and female infertility factors often coexist, yet a high number of men do not undergo testing before their female partner begins IVF. Advocates say characterizing fertility solely as a woman's issue is part of a "broader cultural misunderstanding."

Today's talkers

•	Exploring the gulf between Martin Luther King Jr. and Donald Trump in a divided nation.
•	Beyoncé fulfilled a fan's request with an onstage gender reveal.
•	The internet has thoughts about Sydney Sweeney's bathwater.
•	Paige DeSorbo is sipping a Dunkin' pink refresher.
•	Who is "Mia"? Why you won't see photos of Diddy's ex-personal assistant during trial.

How understaffed is air traffic control at your airport?

Air traffic controller staffing has been a major issue for the Federal Aviation Administration for years. As a result, it's been a major issue for travelers, too, even if it's not always as top of mind for the average passenger when there are delays. According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the FAA is short about 3,000 air traffic controllers nationwide, but those shortages aren't spread evenly throughout the system. This map shows the disparity between staffing in different facilities across the country.

Photo of the day: Swiss glacier collapses, burying village

Reuters reports that 90% of Blatten, Switzerland, is engulfed by ice, mud and rock after a glacier collapsed on a nearby mountain. These photos capture how the disaster unfolded.

Satellite image of landslide covering Swiss village of Blatten after a glacier collapse.

Planet Labs PBC

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here . Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.