When the Status Quo Doesn’t Cut It
This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here.
Today's Liberal News
Trump’s Attacks Threaten Much More Than Harvard
Updated at 3:54 p.m. ET on May 30, 2025
On May 22, the Department of Homeland Security stripped Harvard University of its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, instantly jeopardizing the visas of nearly 6,800 international students—27 percent of the student body.
But the Trump administration’s attack didn’t end there.
Trump’s Abuse of Pardons Undermines Entire Justice System: Reagan Official Bruce Fein
President Donald Trump has signed a wave of pardons for people convicted of fraud, including a Virginia sheriff who took tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and a reality TV couple who evaded millions in taxes after defrauding banks. Last month, Trump pardoned a Florida healthcare executive convicted of tax evasion for stealing nearly $11 million in payroll taxes from the paychecks of doctors and nurses.
As Courts Battle Trump on Tariffs, Will Right-Wing Supreme Court Rescue the President’s Trade Agenda?
President Donald Trump has vowed to go to the Supreme Court to keep his tariffs in place after a whirlwind 24 hours that saw a court temporarily reinstate the measures, soon after two courts blocked most of the tariffs, saying Trump overstepped his presidential authority. Trump has been infuriated by the legal challenges and lashed out on social media against the Federalist Society and conservative legal activist Leonard Leo.
“Worse Than McCarthyism”: Historian Ellen Schrecker on Trump’s War Against Universities & Students
We speak with esteemed historian scholar Ellen Schrecker about the Trump administration’s assault on universities and the crackdown on dissent, a climate of fear and censorship she describes as “worse than McCarthyism.”
“During the McCarthy period, it was attacking only individual professors and only about their sort of extracurricular political activities on the left. … Today, the repression that’s coming out of Washington, D.C.
Dr. Oz pushes back on criticism that GOP is cutting Medicaid
The CMS administrator says in a POLITICO podcast that most Americans agree with the White House push to enact work requirements.
There’s a Strange Reason Your Graduation Photos Are So Expensive
It’s the product of a multimillion-dollar business built to cash in on your proud moment.
Want to Leave the States This Summer? Here’s What to Know About Getting Back In.
Trump’s policies have made travel feel incredibly fraught. We talked to some lawyers about what to expect.
RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals
The health secretary said the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet are in bed with pharma.
The CDC is no longer recommending Covid vaccines for healthy children, pregnant women
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the decision without waiting for an agency advisory panel to vote.
‘Terrifying’: Trump cuts CDC’s drowning-prevention team
The loss of the CDC’s drowning-prevention unit is one that water safety advocates fear will have a direct impact on children’s safety.
RFK Jr.’s report had a surprise target: Your doctor
The commission led by the health secretary says physicians often have the wrong prescription for America’s ills.
RFK Jr. says food and pharma are poisoning Americans. His big report says a fix is coming.
The Make America Healthy Again Commission that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leads will release a strategy to combat chronic disease by summer’s end.
Is Aziz Ansari Sorry?
The Waves also discusses the Riverside Church controversy and the case of Sarah Milov.
Your Opinions on Her Wardrobe Are Probably Unwelcome
What we say matters, especially depending on whom we say it to.
What Role Does HR Play in the #MeToo Era?
The Waves also discusses the case against Jeffrey Epstein and Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble.
Trump’s contract-cutting blitz rattles a once-flourishing DC industry
The General Services Administration, which oversees government contracting, is leading a review of more than 20,000 consulting agreements for what is “non-essential.
Trump’s chaotic economy is causing headaches for Democrats in New Jersey’s governor race
The crowded contest in the Garden State shows how hard it is to address pocketbook issues.
Warren Buffett shocks shareholders by announcing his intention to retire at the end of the year
Earlier, Buffett warned Saturday about the dire global consequences of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
‘Anything can happen’: Trump doesn’t seem fazed by recession worries
Trump has blamed shaky economic numbers on his predecessor.
Democrats look to Trump’s poor economic numbers with anxious optimism
Following its latest round of focus groups, Navigator Research is urging Democrats to proactively push their own economic policies.
“Mt. Everest of Corruption”: Crypto Investors Buy Access to President; Trump Expands Bitcoin Holdings
We speak with Robert Weissman of Public Citizen about Donald Trump’s various conflicts of interest after Trump hosted a private dinner at his Virginia golf club for the 220 top buyers of his $TRUMP cryptocurrency. The Trump family has also announced it is expanding its holdings in cryptocurrencies, with the Trump tech startup set to raise $2.5 billion to invest in bitcoin. “There’s millions of losers for every few winners in the crypto game.
Is Trump Falling Out of Love With Putin?
Like so many stories about Donald Trump, this one begins with a tweet.
More than a decade ago, Trump mused about whether Vladimir Putin would attend a beauty pageant that Trump was sponsoring in Moscow and, if so, whether Putin would “become my new best friend.
Trump’s Most Successful Business Venture
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.
Paul Walczak didn’t have a plausible defense, but he did have a backup plan. As a Florida nursing-home executive, he’d defrauded taxpayers out of almost $11 million, using it to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Five Books That Will Redirect Your Attention
Boredom can sometimes feel like a bygone luxury in an age of screens and constant distractions—yet even with all the content in the world at our fingertips, tedium manages to creep in. Not only does it sneak up on us in waiting rooms or on airplanes; we also encounter it while scrolling idly at home. In the face of repetitive Instagram posts, cookie-cutter TV episodes, and exhausting group chats, the mind goes blank just as reliably as it might while staring out of a window.