Columbia calls in New York police department to help clear Gaza solidarity sit-in – live
Federal judge rules deportation flight to Libya would violate court order
A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Wednesday in favor of immigrant rights advocates who asked him to block the government from deporting migrants to Libya, amid reports that the US military planned to fly detained immigrants there this week.
District court judge Brian Murphy issued an order clarifying that a previous injunction he had issued already barred such flights. The judge wrote that he had explained on 30 April that “the Department of Homeland Security may not evade this injunction by ceding control over non-citizens or the enforcement of its immigration responsibilities to any other agency, including but not limited to the Department of Defense”.
“If there is any doubt — the Court sees none — the allegedly imminent removals, as reported by news agencies and as Plaintiffs seek to corroborate with class-member accounts and public information, would clearly violate this Court’s Order,” Murphy clarified.
In a rare show of unity, Libya’s rival governments had already responded to news reports by saying that they would refuse to accept any deportees from the United States.
When Donald Trump was asked on Wednesday if his administration was planning to send migrants to Libya, the president replied: “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Homeland Security please.”
The brutal conditions in Libyan detention centers for migrants forcibly returned after trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean have been known about for years. In 2021, Amnesty International reported that it had obtained more than 50 witness accounts documenting severe beatings, sexual violence, extortion and forced labor in the centers.
Trump himself has previously made it clear that he is well aware that Libya is far from a safe place.
During his first campaign for the presidency in 2016, Trump blamed Hillary Clinton for the violence in post-revolutionary Libya.
“Libya is in ruins. Our ambassador and three other really brave Americans are dead,” then candidate Trump said in a speech in August 2016. “President Obama and Hillary Clinton should have never attempted to build a democracy in Libya” he added.
However, Trump was actually for the intervention in Libya before he was against it.
In early 2011, when he was flirting with a run for the presidency, Trump demanded immediate action to topple Col. Muammar el-Gaddafi in a statement posted on the YouTube channel he used to promote his gameshow The Apprentice.
“I can’t believe what our country is doing,” Trump said on 28 February 2011, two weeks before the Obama administration received security council authorization “to protect civilians” in Libya. “Gaddafi in Libya is killing thousands of people, nobody knows how bad it is, and we’re sitting around we have soldiers all have the Middle East, and we’re not bringing them in to stop this horrible carnage.”
“We should do, on a humanitarian basis, immediately go in to Libya, knock this guy out – very quickly, very surgically, very effectively – and save the lives. After it’s all done, we go to the protesters, who end up running the country … and then say: by the way, from all of your oil, we want reimbursement.”
Key events
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Columbia University calls in New York Police Department to help clear Gaza solidarity sit-in
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Supreme court chief justice John Roberts says he won’t retire: ‘I’m going out feet first’
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Stockholm City Council rejects ‘bizarre’ demand from US embassy to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies
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Federal judge rules deportation flight to Libya would violate court order
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Confirmation hearing off for Trump’s surgeon general pick, amid questions over Fox News doctor’s resume
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FBI director Kash Patel pressed on firing agents who investigated January 6 insurrection
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The day so far
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US considering exempting baby items like car seats and strollers from Chinese tariffs
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Federal Reserve warns of inflation and jobs risks amid Trump’s erratic trade strategy
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China says US asked for trade meeting in Switzerland
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Embattled Voice of America to use newsfeed from hard-right network
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Court orders detained Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk returned to Vermont
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‘We do not spy on our friends’: Denmark plans to call in US ambassador over ‘disturbing’ Greenland spying report
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‘Not a safe place to send anyone’: US planning to deport migrants to Libya despite ‘hellish’ conditions – reports
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RFK Jr launches autism project using data from Medicare and Medicaid
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US and Europe ‘got a little bit off track’, says Vance, as he encourages ‘us all to get back on track together’
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‘We care about Europe being self-sufficient’, says Vance
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Vance says ‘so far so good’ with Iran nuclear talks
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Vance presses EU to lower tariffs and regulatory barriers, and open door to US weapons
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Russia ‘asking for too much’, says JD Vance, as he says both sides need to talk to each other directly to end war in Ukraine
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‘We are very much real friends’: JD Vance says he believes US and Europe ‘are on the same team’
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JD Vance to deliver remarks at Munich Leaders Meeting in Washington DC
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Trump plans to announce US will call Persian Gulf ‘Arabian Gulf’ or ‘Gulf of Arabia’, officials say
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Trump administration to stop US research on space pollution, in boon to Elon Musk
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‘Maduro did not close our bureau – Trump did’: Voice of America journalists speak out
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UK in talks with US officials over movie tariffs, says minister
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Trump says ‘we just want to be friends’ as Canada PM torpedoes 51st state idea
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Biden warns Europe losing confidence in US under Trump will change course of modern history
Columbia University calls in New York Police Department to help clear Gaza solidarity sit-in
Columbia University called in the New York Police Department to help clear Gaza solidarity activists who occupied the campus’s main library on Wednesday.
Students who witnessed protesters being detained by campus security officers at Butler Library shared video on social media of protesters being placed in handcuffs and “manhandled”. Activists accused the security officers of initiating violent scuffles, while the school blamed the protesters.
Claire Shipman, the university’s acting president, said in a statement that protesters had refused to leave the building despite being warned that a failure to comply result in disciplinary action and possibly arrest for trespassing.
“Due to the number of individuals participating in the disruption inside and outside of the building, a large group of people attempting to force their way into Butler Library creating a safety hazard, and what we believe to be the significant presence of individuals not affiliated with the University, Columbia has taken the necessary step of requesting the presence of NYPD to assist in securing the building and the safety of our community,” Shipman said in the statement. “Sadly, during the course of this disruption, two of our Columbia Public Safety Officers sustained injuries during a crowd surge when individuals attempted to force their way into the building and into Room 301. These actions are outrageous.”
Columbia University Apartheid Divest, or CUAD, the student movement that established a tent encampment on campus last year, wrote on social media: “Public safety has assaulted dozens of protestors so far and is refusing to let people in and out of the building despite an active fire alarm”.
“Spirits remain high in the liberated zone despite the imminent NYPD SRG raid”, the group reported from inside the library following televised comments from New York’s mayor, Eric Adams, that the police were on their way to the campus.
Read more from my colleague Lauren Gambino:
Supreme court chief justice John Roberts says he won’t retire: ‘I’m going out feet first’
John Roberts, the chief justice of the US supreme court, has no intention of retiring, ever, he said in an interview on Wednesday in his native Buffalo, New York. “I’m going out feet first”, Roberts told his old friend, US district judge Lawrence Vilardo.
Roberts was speaking at what was billed as a “fireside chat” during a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. The livestreamed discussion is still going on.
The chief justice also repeated his rejection of calls from supporters of Donald Trump for the removal of judges who have issued rulings against his illegal executive orders. “Impeachment is not how you register disagreement with a decision”, Roberts said.
Stockholm City Council rejects ‘bizarre’ demand from US embassy to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies
The US Embassy in Sweden “is demanding that its suppliers and cooperating partners stop using diversity, equity and inclusion policies, or risk an end to their relationship”, Sweden’s state broadcaster reports.
Stockholm City Council’s urban planning office received a letter from the embassy with the “completely bizarre” demand council member Jan Valeskog said. His office would not comply, Valeskog told a local radio station, since diversity, equity and inclusion are important to the city government.
Valeskog added that the embassy was free to end its relationship with his office if it likes. “If the US terminates its relationship with the city planning office, the embassy will have difficulty getting a building permit if they want to rebuild, for example. That’s their headache, not ours”, he said.
The embassy was asked for comment by Radio Sweden, but declined to do so.
Federal judge rules deportation flight to Libya would violate court order
A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Wednesday in favor of immigrant rights advocates who asked him to block the government from deporting migrants to Libya, amid reports that the US military planned to fly detained immigrants there this week.
District court judge Brian Murphy issued an order clarifying that a previous injunction he had issued already barred such flights. The judge wrote that he had explained on 30 April that “the Department of Homeland Security may not evade this injunction by ceding control over non-citizens or the enforcement of its immigration responsibilities to any other agency, including but not limited to the Department of Defense”.
“If there is any doubt — the Court sees none — the allegedly imminent removals, as reported by news agencies and as Plaintiffs seek to corroborate with class-member accounts and public information, would clearly violate this Court’s Order,” Murphy clarified.
In a rare show of unity, Libya’s rival governments had already responded to news reports by saying that they would refuse to accept any deportees from the United States.
When Donald Trump was asked on Wednesday if his administration was planning to send migrants to Libya, the president replied: “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Homeland Security please.”
The brutal conditions in Libyan detention centers for migrants forcibly returned after trying to reach Europe across the Mediterranean have been known about for years. In 2021, Amnesty International reported that it had obtained more than 50 witness accounts documenting severe beatings, sexual violence, extortion and forced labor in the centers.
Trump himself has previously made it clear that he is well aware that Libya is far from a safe place.
During his first campaign for the presidency in 2016, Trump blamed Hillary Clinton for the violence in post-revolutionary Libya.
“Libya is in ruins. Our ambassador and three other really brave Americans are dead,” then candidate Trump said in a speech in August 2016. “President Obama and Hillary Clinton should have never attempted to build a democracy in Libya” he added.
However, Trump was actually for the intervention in Libya before he was against it.
In early 2011, when he was flirting with a run for the presidency, Trump demanded immediate action to topple Col. Muammar el-Gaddafi in a statement posted on the YouTube channel he used to promote his gameshow The Apprentice.
“I can’t believe what our country is doing,” Trump said on 28 February 2011, two weeks before the Obama administration received security council authorization “to protect civilians” in Libya. “Gaddafi in Libya is killing thousands of people, nobody knows how bad it is, and we’re sitting around we have soldiers all have the Middle East, and we’re not bringing them in to stop this horrible carnage.”
“We should do, on a humanitarian basis, immediately go in to Libya, knock this guy out – very quickly, very surgically, very effectively – and save the lives. After it’s all done, we go to the protesters, who end up running the country … and then say: by the way, from all of your oil, we want reimbursement.”
Confirmation hearing off for Trump’s surgeon general pick, amid questions over Fox News doctor’s resume
The Senate confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as US surgeon general, Fox News contributor Dr Janette Nesheiwat, has been cancelled amid reports that the White House is withdrawing the nomination.
Bloomberg News first reported that the White House is pulling its nomination Nesheiwat, who has come under fire for allegedly misleading statements about where she went to medical school and, from vaccine skeptics, for promoting vaccination against Covid-19.
The confirmation hearing was scheduled for Thursday, but Nesheiwat’s name has been removed from the revised witness schedule by the Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions.
When Trump announced the nomination of the Fox News regular, he described Nesheiwat as a “proud graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences”. However, as CBS News reported last week, Nesheiwat “actually earned her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine, located in St. Maarten” before completing her residency at the University of Arkansas.
Until the CBS report was published, Nesheiwat’s LinkedIn profile incorrectly listed an MD from the University of Arkansas School of Medicine and made no mention of AUC.
The network also reported that the doctor previously used a formulation of the Caribbean university’s name that might have misled people into thinking she had attended the American University in Washington DC.
“I completed my medical training and residency at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences near Little Rock where I served as Chief Resident”, Nesheiwat wrote on Facebook in 2018. “Initially pursuing training at the American University, I completed the majority of my studies in London, England, at St. Thomas & Guy’s Hospital.”
Nesheiwat’s nomination has been heavily criticized by Trump supporters from the far-right, including Dr Simone Gold, an emergency physician who entered the Capitol on January 6 2021, and told Trump supporters not to take “an experimental biological agent deceptively named a vaccine”. On social media, Gold complained that Nesheiwat had urged Americans to wear masks during the pandemic, said the vaccine was “safe and effective”, and praised Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for cracking down on misinformation about the pandemic. “Is she Dr. Fauci 2.0?” Gold asked.
Trump’s confidante, the Islamophobic, 9/11 truther Laura Loomer campaigned against Nesheiwat on social media, writing on Sunday that her “promotion of DEI-focused initiatives” and “her advocacy for the China Virus ‘vaccine’” made her “unfit for the role of United States Surgeon General”.
If Nesheiwat’s nomination has been withdrawn, it will be the second time in a week Trump has lost confidence in her family. Her older sister, Julia, a homeland security adviser to Trump during his first term who also served in the Obama administration, is married to Mike Waltz, Trump’s now former national security adviser.
FBI director Kash Patel pressed on firing agents who investigated January 6 insurrection
Chris Stein
FBI director, Kash Patel, testified before a House appropriation subcommittee today, where he dodged questions about whether he would fire more agents who had investigated the January 6 insurrection.
“Do you anticipate firing any additional employees that may have worked in relation to the January 6 investigations?” asked congresswoman Grace Meng, the top Democrat on the panel, which held a hearing with Patel on the FBI’s budget request.
“The only way you get fired from the FBI while I’m the director is if you violate the ethical guidelines or break the law,” Patel replied.
A longtime defender of Trump and critic of the alleged “deep state” he claims worked against the president during the first term, Patel narrowly won Senate confirmation to lead the federal law enforcement agency in February. He took office weeks after the agency’s interim director disclosed that he had been directed to fire eight senior leaders, and compile a list of all agents who had worked on January 6 cases, prompting a lawsuit to stop the list’s creation and sharing.
Asked about the list in the hearing, Patel said: “That email or memo was sent out prior to my arrival at the FBI. We have not addressed that specific email since I’ve arrived because the matter’s in litigation in federal court.”
The day so far
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The vice-president JD Vance struck a far more soft, conciliatory tone towards Europe at the Munich leaders meeting in DC this morning than he did in February this year – he even joked about thinking he might not be invited back after that. This time, Vance repeatedly emphasized that the US and Europe are “real friends” who are “on the same team” – and said that things had simply “got off track, and I’d encourage us all to get back on track together”. He did stress that the US wants Europe to be “self-sufficient” and to see 5% spending on defense, and he also pressed the EU to lower tariffs and regulatory barriers, and to open the door to US weapons.
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Vance’s only harsh words were saved for Russia. Russia, he said, was “asking for too much” in its peace offer, and said the US is focused on a long-term ceasefire. The Trump administration wants Russia and Ukraine to move towards direct talks with each other as the next step towards peace, he said. On Iran, Vance said “so far so good” on nuclear talks, and said Iran should be allowed a “civil nuclear program” but not a “nuclear weapons program”. “So far we’re on the right pathway,” he said.
Elsewhere
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In his first interview since leaving the White House in January, Joe Biden accused Trump of “modern-day appeasement” in his approach to Russia, and said it’s “foolish” to believe Vladimir Putin will stop the violence if he is handed over parts of Ukraine. He also condemned Trump’s aggressive talk toward Panama, Greenland and Canada. “What the hell’s going on here?” he asked. “What president ever talks like that? That’s not who we are. We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity — not about confiscation.” Story here.
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The Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold as questions around the global economic outlook mount amid Trump’s erratic rollout of an aggressive trade strategy. Policymakers at the US central bank cautioned that “the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen” as they opted to maintain the benchmark interest rate for the third time in a row. Story here.
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Trump said there would be more information in the next day on a potential new proposal for a hostage release deal and ceasefire in Gaza. “A lot of talk going on about Gaza right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House today. “You’ll be knowing probably in the next 24 hours.”
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The Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said he would summon the acting US ambassador to Denmark after the WSJ (paywall) reported the Trump administration ordered US intelligence agencies to step up surveillance on Greenland. “I have read the article … and it worries me greatly because we do not spy on friends,” Rasmussen told reporters. “We are going to call in the US acting ambassador for a discussion at the foreign ministry to see if we can confirm this information, which is somewhat disturbing,” Rasmussen added. Story here.
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A federal appeals court granted a judge’s order to bring Turkish Tufts University student, Rümeysa Öztürk, from a Louisiana immigration detention center back to New England for hearings to determine whether her rights were violated. Story here.
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The upcoming face-to-face meeting in Geneva this weekend between US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and his China counterpart He Lifeng was requested by the Trump administration, Chinese officials said. Bessent had earlier suggested it was the other way around. Asked about it Trump said: “They said we initiated it? Well I think they should go back and study their files.”
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A hard-right, Trump-supporting US news network that perpetuated conspiracy theories about the 2020 election will provide news coverage for Voice of America (VoA), the Trump administration said. The move that OAN, which many see as a pro-Trump propaganda outfit, will provide content for VoA, which has traditionally been a more politically neutral news source, will spur further fears about Trump’s crackdown on the press. Story here.
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The US National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have partnered to research the causes of the autism spectrum disorder, creating a database of autism-diagnosed people enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. “We’re using this partnership to uncover the root causes of autism and other chronic diseases,” HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said in a statement. “We’re pulling back the curtain—with full transparency and accountability—to deliver the honest answers families have waited far too long to hear.”
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The Trump administration is poised to kill federal research into pollution from satellites and rockets, including some caused by Elon Musk’s space companies, raising new conflict-of-interest questions about the billionaire SpaceX and Starlink owner. Story here.
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And finally, a fan of renaming gulfs, Trump plans to announce while on his trip to Saudi Arabia next week that the United States will now refer to the Persian Gulf as the “Arabian Gulf” or the “Gulf of Arabia”, none other than the Associated Press reports, citing two US officials. Iranian leaders said the move was “politically motivated”.
US considering exempting baby items like car seats and strollers from Chinese tariffs
The Trump administration is considering exempting car seats, baby strollers, cribs and other essential items for transporting children from tariffs on China up to 145%, treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday.
Reuters reports that Bessent made the comments under questioning from Democratic representative Ayanna Pressley at a House financial services committee hearing that those exemptions were under consideration.
Pressley, of Massachusetts, noted that more than 3.5 million babies are born annually and almost all strollers are made in China. “Now that cost is going up,” she said.
In 2018, the Trump administration exempted some products produced in China from 25% tariffs including bicycle helmets and child-safety furniture such as car seats and playpens. However, car seat component parts, cribs, bassinets, diaper bags and wooden safety gates were not exempted.
Chris Peterson, the CEO of Newell Brands, the maker of Graco strollers, car seats and other children’s goods, said last week on an earnings call that approximately 97% of baby strollers and 87% of baby car seats in the US are sourced from China. The company has hiked prices of imported baby gear products by about 20% because of tariffs.
Peterson said the company has not priced in the latest 125% tariff hike and has temporarily halted shipments from China as it sells a few months of inventory.
“At some point, we will begin to run out of inventory. Retailers will begin to run out of inventory and we will turn back on reordering from China,” he said. “When that happens, because the whole industry sources from China, we would expect that we and the rest of the industry will take additional pricing to offset the tariff cost.”
Federal Reserve warns of inflation and jobs risks amid Trump’s erratic trade strategy
Callum Jones
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates on hold as questions around the global economic outlook mount amid Donald Trump’s erratic rollout of an aggressive trade strategy.
Policymakers at the US central bank cautioned that “the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen” as they opted to maintain the benchmark interest rate for the third time in a row.
“Uncertainty about the economic outlook has increased further,” they said in a statement.
The US president has repeatedly demanded in recent months that the Fed cuts rates – and even raised the prospect of firing Jerome Powell, its chairperson, before walking back the comments – as Trump’s tariffs plan appeared to knock the US economy.
The Fed has been sitting on its hands for months, however, citing heightened uncertainty. It last cut rates in December, to a range of between 4.25% and 4.5%.
As Trump pushed ahead last month with sweeping tariffs on imported goods from much of the world, Powell cautioned this would probably raise prices and slow growth – despite the administration’s pledges to revitalize the US economy and reduce the cost of living for millions of Americans.
Trump was also just asked about the comments I just reported from China that the US initiated this weekend’s upcoming trade meetings in Switzerland, to which he replied:
They said we initiated it? Well I think they should go back and study their files.
Donald Trump said there would be more information in the next day on a potential new proposal for a hostage release deal and ceasefire in Gaza.
“A lot of talk going on about Gaza right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House today. “You’ll be knowing probably in the next 24 hours.”
China says US asked for trade meeting in Switzerland
The upcoming face-to-face meeting in Geneva this weekend between US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and his China counterpart He Lifeng was requested by the Trump administration, Chinese officials have said.
“The US said repeatedly it wants to negotiate with China. This meeting is requested by the US side,” said the foreign ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, at his regular press conference on Wednesday.
China will be entering the talks “firmly” opposed to tariffs, Lin said in a post on X. “Meanwhile, China is open to dialogue, but any dialogue must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit.”
His comments contradict Bessent’s earlier claims that the high-stakes meeting was taking place in Switzerland by coincidence. “I was going to be in Switzerland to negotiate with the Swiss,” he said in an interview on Fox News. “Turns out the Chinese team is traveling through Europe, and they will be in Switzerland also. So we will meet on Saturday and Sunday.” China, meanwhile, had said He was going to be in Switzerland at the invitation of the Swiss government.
In the last few weeks China has repeatedly denied that it has proactively reached out to the Trump administration to propose trade talks. Instead, Chinese officials said the country was evaluating the possibility of starting trade negotiations with the US after senior US officials reached out “through relevant parties multiple times” hoping to start tariff negotiations.
