A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices, while American incomes jumped.
Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in March and the lowest since September. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier, below the March figure of 2.6%. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed.
The court ruling last Wednesday said that most of Trump’s tariffs were unlawful, including his duties on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, as well as those on more than 50 other countries. Tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars were implemented under different laws and remain in place.
But the duties were allowed to remain in effect while the Trump administration appeals the ruling against them. And administration officials say they will find other legal authorities, if needed, to implement the tariffs. As a result, what tariffs will end up in place and for how long remains highly uncertain.
Student Speaker Accuses Israel of 'Genocide' at MIT Graduation
Megha Vemuri, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class of 2025, addressed graduates at the school's commencement on Thursday.
Clad in a red keffiyeh, Megha Vemuri, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class of 2025, addressed graduates at the school's commencement on Thursday.
"You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine," she said.
"It is no secret that at this time, academic institutions across the country are shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty," she said. "The question of what will happen next echoes in our minds, and there is a lot of fear in many of our hearts."
Vemuri told graduates, to some applause, that "last spring, MIT's undergraduate body and graduate student union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military."
"As scientists, engineers, academics and leaders, we have a commitment to support life, support aid efforts and call for an arms embargo, and keep demanding now as alumni that MIT cuts the ties," she said.
After telling students to turn their rings around so the MIT emblem faces outward, the student said that the school "is directly complicit in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, and so we carry with us the obligation to do everything we can to stop it."
Sally Kornbluth, the MIT president who has retained her job unlike the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, who testified alongside her in December 2023 at a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on Jew-hatred, spoke following Vemuri.
"OK, listen, folks. At MIT, we value freedom of expression," she said, without pushing back on the "genocide" accusation against the Jewish state. "But today's about the graduates, so it's time for me to charge you all. So good afternoon, everyone."
"Just throw academia in the garbage," wrote Vickie Paladino, a Republican member of the New York City Council who represents part of Queens.
"It's time to start from scratch," she stated. "There's literally nothing left to lose at this point. None of these people deserve the status, prestige or authority that comes with an elite credential."
Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the MIT Sloan School of Management who notes in his bio that he served in the Israel Defense Forces for nearly 12 years, wrote, "that MIT trains woke minds that fail to see the only genocidal entity in Gaza is Hamas is known."
Senior Hamas Official: We Reject the New US Ceasefire Proposal
The BBC reported Friday that Hamas is expected to reject the latest ceasefire and hostage-release proposal based on U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's plan, according to a senior Hamas official.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Friday morning, citing a senior Hamas official, that the terror organization is expected to reject the new ceasefire and hostage-release proposal based on U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's framework.
According to the official, the framework fails to address Hamas' core demands – namely, a commitment to turn the temporary ceasefire into a permanent one, and a protocol that would allow an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The official added that Hamas is still in contact with the mediators and will issue an official response soon.
Thursday night on Kan News, it was reported that senior Israeli officials involved in the hostage negotiations believe the chances of reaching an agreement are currently high – but depend on Hamas' position. The U.S. administration has also expressed strong optimism, to the point that Witkoff wants to finalize an agreement in the coming days – even after this weekend's round of nuclear talks (with Iran).
However, the matter hinges on Hamas' response to the contentious issue of American guarantees to uphold the agreement and the ceasefire. According to sources, this is how the Witkoff framework phrases it: "Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire will continue during the 60-day temporary ceasefire, and the ceasefire will be extended beyond those 60 days as long as negotiations continue positively." According to sources familiar with the issue, this is a "sophisticated formulation" that does not include a firm commitment to end the war.
While critics are rightfully concerned about the many direct side effects of the C-19 vaccines, few are aware of the threat posed by the large-scale and out-of-control gain-of-function experiment that has been triggered by irrational human intervention in highly C-19 vaccinated populations. After psychotic infection-prevention measures and insane C-19 mass vaccination drove viral escape from anti-SARS-CoV-2 (SC-2) immunity, making the virus more infectious, ongoing vaccine breakthrough infections now appear to be evolving in a way that facilitates immune deficiency against SC-2 altogether, thereby facilitating increased viral virulence of newly emerging, highly transmissible SC-2 lineages. As I always said: This is not going to have a happy ending (in highly C-19 vaccinated populations).
A political source stated that contrary to reports, Israel does not recognize any Hamas agreement to Witkoff's framework. Hamas also denied any agreement, with the terror group's Al-Aqsa news channel report that "Hamas is still reviewing the latest proposal; it is not true that it has agreed to it."
Additionally, Kan News reported on Thursday for the first time that sources involved in the negotiations said Hamas is not satisfied with Witkoff's new framework and is struggling to accept it. According to the sources, the organization was angered by the fact that the framework does not guarantee a comprehensive ceasefire and a full IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Former Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams Wins Libel Suit Against BBC
A jury at the High Court in Dublin ruled in Adams’ favor and he was awarded 100,000 euros ($113,000) in damages.
Adams sued Britain’s public broadcaster over a claim in a documentary and online article that he sanctioned the killing of Denis Donaldson, a long-serving Sinn Fein official who acknowledged in 2005 that he had worked for British intelligence. He was shot dead at his cottage in rural Ireland four months later.
In the BBC program broadcast in September 2016, an anonymous source claimed the shooting was sanctioned by the political and military leadership of the IRA and that Adams gave “the final say.”
Adams denies involvement and called the allegation a “grievous smear.”
Adams, 76, is one of the most influential figures of Northern Ireland’s decades of conflict, and its peace process. He led the IRA-linked party Sinn Fein between 1983 and 2018. He has always denied being an IRA member, though former colleagues have said he was one of its leaders.
In 2009, a splinter group opposed to Northern Ireland’s peace agreement, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility for killing Donaldson. An Irish police investigation remains ongoing.
Universities Seek to Lure US-bound Students Amid Trump Crackdown
Universities around the world are seeking to offer refuge for students impacted by President Donald Trump's crackdown on academic institutions, targeting top talent and a slice of the billions of dollars in academic revenue in the United States.
Osaka University, one of the top ranked in Japan, is offering tuition fee waivers, research grants, and help with travel arrangements for students and researchers at U.S. institutions that want to transfer.
Japan's Kyoto University and Tokyo University are also considering similar schemes, while Hong Kong has instructed its universities to attract top talent from the United States. China's Xi'an Jiaotong University has appealed for students at Harvard, singled out in Trump's crackdown, promising "streamlined" admissions and "comprehensive" support.
Jessica Turner, CEO of Quacquarelli Symonds, a London-based analytics firm that ranks universities globally, said other leading universities around the world were trying to attract students unsure of going to the United States.
Germany, France, and Ireland are emerging as particularly attractive alternatives in Europe, she said, while in the Asia-Pacific, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and mainland China are rising in profile.
Chinese students have been particularly targeted in Trump's crackdown, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday pledging to "aggressively" crack down on their visas.
More than 275,000 Chinese students are enrolled in hundreds of U.S. colleges, providing a major source of revenue for the schools and a crucial pipeline of talent for U.S. technology companies.
Students from Britain and the European Union are also now more hesitant to apply to U.S. universities, said Tom Moon, deputy head of consultancy at Oxbridge Applications, which helps students in their university applications.
There has been an uptick in applications to British universities from prospective students in the U.S., said Universities UK, an organization that promotes British institutions. It cautioned, however, that it was too early to say whether that translates into more students enrolling.
Ella Rickets, an 18-year old first year student at Harvard from Canada, said she receives a generous aid package paid for by the school's donors and is concerned that she won't be able to afford other options if forced to transfer.
"Around the time I was applying to schools, the only university across the Atlantic I considered was Oxford... However, I realized that I would not be able to afford the international tuition and there was no sufficient scholarship or financial aid available," she said.
If Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students is revoked, she would most likely apply to the University of Toronto, she said.
Analytics firm QS said overall visits to its 'Study in America' online guide have declined by 17.6% in the last year — with interest from India alone down over 50%.
"Measurable impacts on enrolment typically emerge within six to 18 months. Reputational effects, however, often linger far longer, particularly where visa uncertainty and shifting work rights play into perceptions of risk versus return," said QS' Turner.
That reputational risk, and the ensuing brain drain, could be even more damaging for U.S. institutions than the immediate economic hit from students leaving.
"If America turns these brilliant and talented students away, they will find other places to work and study," said Caleb Thompson, a 20-year-old U.S. student at Harvard, who lives with eight international scholars.
Kremlin: Russia, Ukraine to Discuss Ceasefire Conditions in Istanbul
The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine are expected to discuss ceasefire conditions next week in Istanbul, and it praised th
Russia has proposed holding the second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2. However, Ukraine wants to see Russia's proposals for a peace deal before it sends a delegation to Turkey, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation would be traveling to Istanbul and would be ready for talks with Ukraine on Monday morning.
"At the moment, everyone is focused on the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations. A list of conditions for a temporary truce is being developed," Peskov told reporters. He said the details of the memorandum will not be published.
!summarize #juansoto #nymets #Mlb
!summarize #bitcoin #crypto #arthurhayes
Inflation Cools to 2.1% With Little Tariff Impact
A key U.S. inflation gauge slowed last month as President Donald Trump’s tariffs have yet to noticeably push up prices, while American incomes jumped.
Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose just 2.1% in April compared with a year earlier, down from 2.3% in March and the lowest since September. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier, below the March figure of 2.6%. Economists track core prices because they typically provide a better read on where inflation is headed.
The court ruling last Wednesday said that most of Trump’s tariffs were unlawful, including his duties on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, as well as those on more than 50 other countries. Tariffs on steel, aluminum, and cars were implemented under different laws and remain in place.
But the duties were allowed to remain in effect while the Trump administration appeals the ruling against them. And administration officials say they will find other legal authorities, if needed, to implement the tariffs. As a result, what tariffs will end up in place and for how long remains highly uncertain.
Student Speaker Accuses Israel of 'Genocide' at MIT Graduation
Megha Vemuri, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class of 2025, addressed graduates at the school's commencement on Thursday.
Clad in a red keffiyeh, Megha Vemuri, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class of 2025, addressed graduates at the school's commencement on Thursday.
"You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine," she said.
"It is no secret that at this time, academic institutions across the country are shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty," she said. "The question of what will happen next echoes in our minds, and there is a lot of fear in many of our hearts."
Vemuri told graduates, to some applause, that "last spring, MIT's undergraduate body and graduate student union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military."
"As scientists, engineers, academics and leaders, we have a commitment to support life, support aid efforts and call for an arms embargo, and keep demanding now as alumni that MIT cuts the ties," she said.
After telling students to turn their rings around so the MIT emblem faces outward, the student said that the school "is directly complicit in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people, and so we carry with us the obligation to do everything we can to stop it."
Sally Kornbluth, the MIT president who has retained her job unlike the presidents of Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, who testified alongside her in December 2023 at a House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on Jew-hatred, spoke following Vemuri.
!summarize #ohiostate #football #ryanday #ncaa #sports
"OK, listen, folks. At MIT, we value freedom of expression," she said, without pushing back on the "genocide" accusation against the Jewish state. "But today's about the graduates, so it's time for me to charge you all. So good afternoon, everyone."
"Just throw academia in the garbage," wrote Vickie Paladino, a Republican member of the New York City Council who represents part of Queens.
"It's time to start from scratch," she stated. "There's literally nothing left to lose at this point. None of these people deserve the status, prestige or authority that comes with an elite credential."
Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the MIT Sloan School of Management who notes in his bio that he served in the Israel Defense Forces for nearly 12 years, wrote, "that MIT trains woke minds that fail to see the only genocidal entity in Gaza is Hamas is known."
!summarize #unc #roywilliams #Michaeljordan #basketball #ncaa
Senior Hamas Official: We Reject the New US Ceasefire Proposal
The BBC reported Friday that Hamas is expected to reject the latest ceasefire and hostage-release proposal based on U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's plan, according to a senior Hamas official.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Friday morning, citing a senior Hamas official, that the terror organization is expected to reject the new ceasefire and hostage-release proposal based on U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's framework.
According to the official, the framework fails to address Hamas' core demands – namely, a commitment to turn the temporary ceasefire into a permanent one, and a protocol that would allow an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The official added that Hamas is still in contact with the mediators and will issue an official response soon.
Thursday night on Kan News, it was reported that senior Israeli officials involved in the hostage negotiations believe the chances of reaching an agreement are currently high – but depend on Hamas' position. The U.S. administration has also expressed strong optimism, to the point that Witkoff wants to finalize an agreement in the coming days – even after this weekend's round of nuclear talks (with Iran).
However, the matter hinges on Hamas' response to the contentious issue of American guarantees to uphold the agreement and the ceasefire. According to sources, this is how the Witkoff framework phrases it: "Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire will continue during the 60-day temporary ceasefire, and the ceasefire will be extended beyond those 60 days as long as negotiations continue positively." According to sources familiar with the issue, this is a "sophisticated formulation" that does not include a firm commitment to end the war.
While critics are rightfully concerned about the many direct side effects of the C-19 vaccines, few are aware of the threat posed by the large-scale and out-of-control gain-of-function experiment that has been triggered by irrational human intervention in highly C-19 vaccinated populations. After psychotic infection-prevention measures and insane C-19 mass vaccination drove viral escape from anti-SARS-CoV-2 (SC-2) immunity, making the virus more infectious, ongoing vaccine breakthrough infections now appear to be evolving in a way that facilitates immune deficiency against SC-2 altogether, thereby facilitating increased viral virulence of newly emerging, highly transmissible SC-2 lineages. As I always said: This is not going to have a happy ending (in highly C-19 vaccinated populations).
A political source stated that contrary to reports, Israel does not recognize any Hamas agreement to Witkoff's framework. Hamas also denied any agreement, with the terror group's Al-Aqsa news channel report that "Hamas is still reviewing the latest proposal; it is not true that it has agreed to it."
Additionally, Kan News reported on Thursday for the first time that sources involved in the negotiations said Hamas is not satisfied with Witkoff's new framework and is struggling to accept it. According to the sources, the organization was angered by the fact that the framework does not guarantee a comprehensive ceasefire and a full IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
!summarize #california #oil #refineries #energy #gas #prices
Former Sinn Fein Leader Gerry Adams Wins Libel Suit Against BBC
A jury at the High Court in Dublin ruled in Adams’ favor and he was awarded 100,000 euros ($113,000) in damages.
Adams sued Britain’s public broadcaster over a claim in a documentary and online article that he sanctioned the killing of Denis Donaldson, a long-serving Sinn Fein official who acknowledged in 2005 that he had worked for British intelligence. He was shot dead at his cottage in rural Ireland four months later.
In the BBC program broadcast in September 2016, an anonymous source claimed the shooting was sanctioned by the political and military leadership of the IRA and that Adams gave “the final say.”
Adams denies involvement and called the allegation a “grievous smear.”
Adams, 76, is one of the most influential figures of Northern Ireland’s decades of conflict, and its peace process. He led the IRA-linked party Sinn Fein between 1983 and 2018. He has always denied being an IRA member, though former colleagues have said he was one of its leaders.
In 2009, a splinter group opposed to Northern Ireland’s peace agreement, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility for killing Donaldson. An Irish police investigation remains ongoing.
!summarize #billackman #harvard #university
Universities Seek to Lure US-bound Students Amid Trump Crackdown
Universities around the world are seeking to offer refuge for students impacted by President Donald Trump's crackdown on academic institutions, targeting top talent and a slice of the billions of dollars in academic revenue in the United States.
Osaka University, one of the top ranked in Japan, is offering tuition fee waivers, research grants, and help with travel arrangements for students and researchers at U.S. institutions that want to transfer.
Japan's Kyoto University and Tokyo University are also considering similar schemes, while Hong Kong has instructed its universities to attract top talent from the United States. China's Xi'an Jiaotong University has appealed for students at Harvard, singled out in Trump's crackdown, promising "streamlined" admissions and "comprehensive" support.
!summarize #autopen #joebiden #davidsachs #elizabthwarren
!summarize #jillbiden #karolineleavitt #coverup #mental #firstlady
Jessica Turner, CEO of Quacquarelli Symonds, a London-based analytics firm that ranks universities globally, said other leading universities around the world were trying to attract students unsure of going to the United States.
Germany, France, and Ireland are emerging as particularly attractive alternatives in Europe, she said, while in the Asia-Pacific, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and mainland China are rising in profile.
Chinese students have been particularly targeted in Trump's crackdown, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday pledging to "aggressively" crack down on their visas.
More than 275,000 Chinese students are enrolled in hundreds of U.S. colleges, providing a major source of revenue for the schools and a crucial pipeline of talent for U.S. technology companies.
!summarize #stephenasmith #hannity #politics #democrats
Students from Britain and the European Union are also now more hesitant to apply to U.S. universities, said Tom Moon, deputy head of consultancy at Oxbridge Applications, which helps students in their university applications.
There has been an uptick in applications to British universities from prospective students in the U.S., said Universities UK, an organization that promotes British institutions. It cautioned, however, that it was too early to say whether that translates into more students enrolling.
Ella Rickets, an 18-year old first year student at Harvard from Canada, said she receives a generous aid package paid for by the school's donors and is concerned that she won't be able to afford other options if forced to transfer.
"Around the time I was applying to schools, the only university across the Atlantic I considered was Oxford... However, I realized that I would not be able to afford the international tuition and there was no sufficient scholarship or financial aid available," she said.
If Harvard's ability to enroll foreign students is revoked, she would most likely apply to the University of Toronto, she said.
Analytics firm QS said overall visits to its 'Study in America' online guide have declined by 17.6% in the last year — with interest from India alone down over 50%.
!summarize #ai #hype #computer #gdp #mit
"Measurable impacts on enrolment typically emerge within six to 18 months. Reputational effects, however, often linger far longer, particularly where visa uncertainty and shifting work rights play into perceptions of risk versus return," said QS' Turner.
That reputational risk, and the ensuing brain drain, could be even more damaging for U.S. institutions than the immediate economic hit from students leaving.
"If America turns these brilliant and talented students away, they will find other places to work and study," said Caleb Thompson, a 20-year-old U.S. student at Harvard, who lives with eight international scholars.
Kremlin: Russia, Ukraine to Discuss Ceasefire Conditions in Istanbul
The Kremlin said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine are expected to discuss ceasefire conditions next week in Istanbul, and it praised th
Russia has proposed holding the second round of talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2. However, Ukraine wants to see Russia's proposals for a peace deal before it sends a delegation to Turkey, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian delegation would be traveling to Istanbul and would be ready for talks with Ukraine on Monday morning.
"At the moment, everyone is focused on the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations. A list of conditions for a temporary truce is being developed," Peskov told reporters. He said the details of the memorandum will not be published.
!summarize #elites #michaellewis #society