Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Some news can be predictable and outrageous simultaneously: “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend routine Covid shots for healthy children and pregnant women, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday.”
* A case worth watching: “National Public Radio on Tuesday sued President Donald Trump over his executive order to cease all federal funding for the nonprofit broadcaster. Trump’s May 1 order violates the First Amendment’s protections of speech and the press and steps on Congress’ authority, NPR and three other public radio stations wrote in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.”
* Another case worth watching: “Shira Perlmutter sued the Trump administration for removing her from a role leading the U.S. Copyright Office this month. In a complaint filed in federal court in D.C. [on Friday], Perlmutter asked the court to bar the Trump administration from removing her from her role as register of copyrights and director of the U.S. Copyright Office.”
* Tariff-driven corruption seemed inevitable: “As President Trump’s tariffs have ratcheted up in recent months, so have the mysterious solicitations some U.S. companies have received, offering them ways to avoid the taxes. Shipping companies, many of them based in China, have reached out to U.S. firms that import apparel, auto parts and jewelry, offering solutions that they say can make the tariffs go away.”
* In the European Union, Hungary sticks out like a sore thumb: “The majority of EU countries — including France and Germany — want the European Commission to crack down on Hungary over Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s plan to ban upcoming Pride celebrations in Budapest, according to a joint statement seen by Politico.”
* Imagine threatening an entire state over one student athlete competing in one event: “President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding if California did not stop a transgender girl in high school from competing in state track and field finals, and said he would discuss it with Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday.” * It’s surprising that the border czar travels in a four-vehicle motorcade: “Security for Trump administration border czar Tom Homan costs more than $500,000 a month, multiple sources within the administration told CBS News, an amount that has drawn attention from allies of President Trump who have been seeking to shrink government spending. The total cost of Homan’s security — with roughly $500,000 in salaries for agents plus airfare, hotel bills and other travel expenses for his protective bubble — adds up to around $1 million per month for the Trump appointee, another administration official said.” * Pelley used his platform to great effect: “Journalist Scott Pelley accused President Donald Trump of ‘attacking’ free speech and spreading ‘insidious fear’ among the public during a commencement address at Wake Forest University.” See you tomorrow.
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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