Today’s edition of quick hits.
* A reversal on visas: “The Trump administration on Friday reversed course on the revocation of visas for international students, making an abrupt — if temporary — 180 on a policy that left more than a thousand foreign students scrambling and civil rights experts sounding the alarm about free speech.”
* Another White House legal setback: “A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the administration of President Donald Trump from stripping hundreds of thousands of federal employees of the ability to unionize and collectively bargain over working conditions. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington, D.C., blocked a March executive order by Trump from being implemented pending the outcome of a lawsuit by the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 160,000 federal employees.”
* A welcome reversal: “The Trump administration is restoring financial support for a landmark study of women’s health, an official said Thursday, reversing a defunding decision that shocked medical researchers.”
* Another welcome reversal: “Federal health officials have reversed the decision to fire a few dozen scientists at the Food and Drug Administration’s food-safety labs, and say they are conducting a review to determine if other critical posts were cut.”
* A case worth watching: “Nineteen states that refused to comply with a Trump administration directive aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools went a step further Friday, filing a federal lawsuit challenging what they consider an illegal threat to cut federal funding.”
* A looming threat of empty store shelves? “Retailers are warning that U.S. consumers could once again be faced with empty store shelves and the kind of supply chain snarls that marked the Covid era if President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China remain at their current levels.” * This is likely to create all kinds of problems: “President Donald Trump on Thursday destabilized a global effort to limit mining in the deep sea, signing an executive order that could eventually open up international waters to excavation firms that the United States unilaterally deems worthy.” * Good for him: “Gov. Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota vetoed a bill this week that would have required most libraries in the state to keep material considered sexually explicit in areas difficult for minors to access. Under the measure, librarians who do not comply could have faced prosecution. Mr. Armstrong, a Republican former congressman in his first year as governor, said in his veto message that the bill ‘represents a misguided attempt to legislate morality through overreach and censorship.’” Have a safe weekend.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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