Friday morning news: May 30, 2025
The news of the day, including White House confident it will win appeal on tariff powers, Israel agrees to terms of ceasefire but Hamas undecided, D.C. Jewish museum reopens, and House presses former President Biden’s staffers on his mental health
Shipping containers at the port of the port of New York & New Jersey in Elizabeth, N.J. Associated Press / Photo by Matt Rourke

Tariff ruling reaction » An appeals court has reversed a block on many of President Trump's tariffs, at least for now.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a stay on a ruling earlier this week from the U.S. Court of International Trade.
That earlier decision said the president had exceeded his authority.
Director of the White House National Economic Council Kevin Hassett:
HASSETT: The bottom line is that we are very, very confident that we are gonna get this positive result and we're even more confident that we're gonna win at the end.
The matter is likely to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.
In the meantime, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says trading partners are still looking to make new trade agreements to avoid the tariffs.
BESSENT: They are coming to us in good faith and you're trying to complete the deals before the the 90 day pause ends.
President Trump announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs last month to give trading partners time to negotiate new deals.
Harvard » Meantime, a federal judge in Boston is blocking the Trump administration’s effort to bar Harvard from enrolling international students. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.
BENJAMIN EICHER: U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs says she intends to issue a broad injunction keeping in place the status quo. She has already put a temporary order in place stopping the government from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says The Ivy League school has allowed foreign students to create an unsafe environment for Jewish students.
But Harvard says the Trump administration’s move is unconstitutional.
Harvard is challenging the Trump administration on multiple legal fronts, including a separate case over the freezing of federal grants and other funding.
For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.
Israel-Gaza latest » The White House says there is renewed hope for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt :
LEAVITT: I can confirm that, uh, special Envoy Witkoff and the President submitted a ceasefire proposal to Hamas that Israel backed and supported Israel signed off on this proposal before it was sent to Hamas.
Leavitt says the Hamas terror group has not accepted the proposal yet, but that talks are still ongoing.
Hamas says it’s studying the latest peace proposal.
That comes after Israel this week announced that it killed senior Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar in a strike earlier this month.
Musk leaves Trump admin (second-day) » Karoline Leavitt also reacted to news that Elon Musk is leaving his role with the Trump administration as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency — or DOGE.
LEAVITT: We thank him for his service. We thank him for getting Doge off of the ground and the efforts to cut waste, fraud, and abuse will continue.
Musk has been the public face of DOGE since President Trump established the office in January.
The department has since rooted through federal government agencies in a quest to identify and end government overspending, corruption, and fraud. But Musk and the agency have come under heavy criticism from Democrats… Who called the resulting cuts reckless and destructive.
Special government employees are only permitted to work up to 130 days in a 12 month period.
Jewish museum reopening » Just over a week after a gunman killed two Israeli embassy staffers in front of a museum in Washington, that museum is reopening to the public.
Officials with the Capital Jewish Museum held an event Thursday to mark the occasion and honor the victims. Board Chairman Chris Wolf:
WOLF: In these difficult days, we have grappled with profound sadness and search for meaning in the face of such reckless violence.
The 31-year-old suspect is behind bars. He was allegedly caught on video shouting "Free Palestine" as he was arrested.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the accused shooter.
House panel probing Biden aides, medical staff » The House Oversight Committee wants answers about former President Biden’s health during his time in office.
Chairman James Comer says lawmakers need to know whether some in the White House took part in hiding Biden’s cognitive decline.
COMER: We're gonna start with the, with the low level staffers, the unnamed staffers that nobody ever heard of prior to my, my, uh, request to come in before the committee.
He said the panel also wants to know if someone other than the president was pulling the strings on orders that bore Biden’s auto-pen signature:
COMER: We want to know who actually gave the authority to do these executive orders and pardons. Because, uh, mm-hmm. Again, I think the American people have seen, uh, uh, up close and personal, especially during that debate with, with Donald Trump that, that Joe Biden wasn't at the top of his game.
Weeks after Biden’s last debate against Donald Trump last summer, the incumbent president pulled out of the race over concerns about his mental fitness.
Comer asked to speak with several former Biden aides and his longtime physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor.
The panel wants to begin interviewing former Biden staffers next week.
The committee could issue subpoenas if they don’t appear.
I'm Kent Covington.
Straight ahead: John Stonestreet answers more questions from journalism students. Plus, a review of the latest Karate Kid movie.
This is The World and Everything in It.
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