Good morning. It's Friday, May 30, and we're covering the reinstatement of tariffs, a change in policy to student visas from China, and much more. First time reading? Join over 4.5 million intellectually curious readers. Sign up here.
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A US appeals court temporarily reinstated the Trump administration's reciprocal tariffs yesterday while it reviews a lower court ruling blocking the new import levies.
The latest action comes a day after the US Court of International Trade ordered the administration to stop most of its new levies, including a 10% baseline import tariff, on nearly all US trading partners within 10 days. The ruling argued President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by using a 1977 emergency powers law to impose tariffs. Trump has used the tariffs to lure manufacturing back to the US, potentially reduce federal deficits, and gain leverage to negotiate more favorable trade deals.
The federal court decision is now stayed through June 9, when the appeals court will hear arguments in the case. The tariffs, however, remain blocked for two small Illinois-based toy importers under a separate ruling issued by a federal judge in Washington, DC. Analysts say the legal back-and-forth has introduced uncertainty into US trade policy, potentially impacting ongoing negotiations. |
The US says it will begin revoking visas for some Chinese students, particularly those tied to the Chinese Communist Party or enrolled in critical fields, citing concerns over intellectual property theft and espionage. The move is part of a broader effort to protect critical technologies and will be paired with increased scrutiny of future visa applications from China and Hong Kong.
Targeted disciplines likely include areas of intense US-China competition, like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and aerospace. While academic espionage is rare, officials say China’s efforts are coordinated, and the openness of US universities creates vulnerabilities. Officials cited cases of students transferring sensitive research to China and participating in state-backed recruitment programs, like the “Thousand Talents Plan.”
China is the second-largest source of international students in the US, with about 277,000 students enrolled in 2023–24, or roughly one in four foreign students. International students contributed $43.8B to the US economy last year and supported over 378,000 jobs. Officials haven’t said how many students may be affected. |
Mount Everest Climbing Season |
Climbing season at Mount Everest ends this weekend, capping a weekslong period in which 468 foreign people from 57 countries received permits from Nepal to ascend the mountain (see more, w/photos). See some of the climbers' stories here.
Among the records set this season was the shortest climb without acclimatizing, with four Brits climbing to the summit at 29,032 feet of elevation in four days and 18 hours. (The record for the shortest climb after a weekslong acclimatizing period is 10 hours and 56 minutes.) The Brits were aided by the use of xenon gas; learn more about the controversial climbing approach here. Separately, Nepali guide Kami Rita broke his own record for the number of lifetime Everest climbs, with 31 total.
Mount Everest is the world’s tallest mountain, roughly 780 feet taller than K2 (more, via YouTube). It was first summited by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay in 1953. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Music legend Smokey Robinson files $500M defamation lawsuit against four women who accused him in lawsuit of sexual assault (More) | Michael Sumler, member of iconic R&B band Kool & the Gang, dies in car crash at age 71 (More) |
> Texas seventh grader Faizan Zaki spells "éclaircissement" correctly to win 97th Scripps National Spelling Bee after finishing runner-up last year (More) |
> The 2025 NCAA baseball tournament kicks off today; see previews for all 16 regional sites (More) | MLB to invest in upstart women's professional softball league; Athletes Unlimited Softball League set to launch in June (More) |
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> Leinweber Foundation makes largest philanthropic gift ever in the field of theoretical physics, granting a total of $90M to Princeton, MIT, and the universities of Michigan, Chicago, and California, Berkeley (More) |
> Meta and Anduril to develop combat-ready virtual reality glasses and wearables for the US military; Anduril cofounder Palmer Luckey previously founded VR startup Oculus, acquired by Meta in 2014 (More) |
> White-nose syndrome in bats can be traced to two separate strains of fungi originating from Ukrainian caves; an epidemic responsible for killing 90% of certain North American bat species likely brought over by cave explorers (More) |
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Apple’s rumored Face ID door lock signal a full push into the $158B smart home market, growing 23% annually. Apple’s move is drawing investor attention—just like Google’s $3.2 Billion Nest buyout and Amazon’s $1 Billion Ring acquisition.
And there’s one startup perfectly positioned to benefit. RYSE doubled its annual growth from 2023 to 2024, has distribution in 120+ Best Buy stores, and holds 10 patents protecting its market edge.
Backing Nest and Ring early paid off in a big way. RYSE is open at just $1.90/share—but only for 24 more hours.* |
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> US stock markets close up (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +0.3%, Nasdaq +0.4%) (More) | Gap shares drop 15% in after-hours trading after retailer reports it expects tariffs to cost between $100M to $150M with mitigation efforts (More) | Dell shares rise in after-hours trading after raising full-year earnings outlook on AI demand (More) |
> Ex-Goldman Sachs banker sentenced to two years in prison for role in taking more than $4.5B in kickbacks and stolen funds from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund intended for energy and infrastructure projects (More) |
> CEO compensation in 2024 for S&P 500 executives up nearly 10% over previous year to a median of $17.1M (More, w/chart) |
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> Health and Human Services cancels $766M award to pharmaceutical company Moderna to develop bird flu vaccine (More) | No H5N1 bird flu cases have been found in humans in three months (More) |
> Supreme Court rules to greenlight 88-mile expansion of oil and gas railroad project in Utah, curbing judicial authority to block projects on environmental grounds (More) |
> State Department notifies Congress of plan to reduce staff by 18%, above the 15% flagged weeks earlier; will also eliminate a division focused on resettling Afghan refugees (More) | Elon Musk ends tenure as chief operating officer at the Department of Government Efficiency, returns full time to businesses (More) |
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> Poison Pill
Truly*Adventurous | Michael Solomon. In September 1982, seven people died from cyanide poisonings in tampered Tylenol bottles. The killer was never prosecuted, with a suspect long tied to a separate murder four years earlier. (Read)
> Action Park
Criminal | Staff. New Jersey's Action Park opened on July 4, 1978–one of the first water parks in the country. It soon became known as one of the world's most dangerous amusement parks. (Listen) |
> What Happened to Southwest Airlines?
Wendover | Staff. How a 2022 winter storm in Denver set off a cascade of flight disruptions—and changed the soul of a decades-old airline. (Watch)
> The Light Beyond Sight
Aeon | Corey S. Powell. How we reached the point where humans are now analyzing the invisible—infrared radiation—using the James Webb Space Telescope. (Read) |
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In partnership with NativePath |
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The Benefits Of Daily Collagen |
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Best of Etcetera—May 2025 |
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Editor's note: More than 12 million monthly clicks can't be wrong. Here are the most popular stories we ran in May. Enjoy!
(5/21/25) The 30-second rule for conversations.
(5/12/25) Doctor gives science-backed advice for aging.
(5/16/25) Video captures "fog tsunami" rolling over Lake Michigan.
(5/5/25) The most beautiful English words, according to linguists.
(5/7/25) What's on the menu in the papal conclave cafeteria?
(5/19/25) US News ranks all 50 states.
(5/21/25) Newly discovered bright blue frog with copper legs.
(5/18/25) Airlines with the most (and least) complaints in 2024.
(5/13/25) Stonehenge-like structure found in Lake Michigan.
(5/6/25) Where US home prices are rising (and falling) the most.
Clickbait: World's first flying car prototype makes public debut. (w/video)
Historybook: Joan of Arc is executed (1431); Historian and philosopher Voltaire dies (1778); First Indianapolis 500 is held (1911); Lincoln Memorial is dedicated (1922); Crew Dragon Demo-2 becomes first commercial flight to International Space Station (2020). |
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"Life is bristling with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to cultivate one's garden." |
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