Today’s edition of quick hits.
* If you’re assuming that the only two justices to dissent in this 7-2 decision were Alito and Thomas, you’re correct: “The Supreme Court on Friday extended its block on the Trump administration’s ability to immediately deport a group of migrants in Texas under the Alien Enemies Act. The court had already blocked such deportations in a previous order and, in Friday’s ruling, said more notice before carrying out deportations is needed, sending the case back to the lower court for further litigation. The court did not decide the underlying question of Trump’s use of the wartime act to carry out deportations.”
* A process worth watching: “The Trump administration gave Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal during the fourth round of negotiations on Sunday, a U.S. official and two other sources with direct knowledge tell Axios. … It was the first time since the nuclear talks started in early April that White House envoy Steve Witkoff presented a written proposal to the Iranians.”
* This strike will affect a whole lot of people: “Train operators at the nation’s third-largest transit system went on strike early Friday morning, upending the commutes for hundreds of thousands of people who work in and around New York City. The strike is a rare labor shutdown at a commuter railroad and is the first at NJ Transit since 1983.”
* These allegations are very easy to believe: “Russia has struck 25 hotels near Ukraine’s front lines from the beginning of the war in 2022 through March in what appears to be a campaign to discourage journalism in the area, according to a report by the media rights group Reporters Without Borders and a Ukrainian organization, Truth Hounds.”
* It was smart of Schumer to at least try to keep this story alive: “Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sharply criticized President Trump on Thursday following reports that 17 family members of Sinaloa Cartel leaders were allowed into the U.S. last week as part of a deal with the Trump administration. In floor remarks Thursday, Schumer accused the president of being ‘soft on crime’ and of ‘rolling out a welcome mat to El Chapo and his family and inviting them into our country.’”
* It’s not just Newark: “An air traffic control facility in Denver briefly suffered a communications outage Monday, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Thursday, adding to a string of recent technology failures suffered by air traffic controllers.”
* The CECOT story is no longer front-page news, but it’s ongoing: “Senate Republicans on Thursday stopped a measure that sought to obtain more information on the human rights practices at the prison in El Salvador where the Trump administration has deported migrants who are alleged gang members. The chamber, in a 45-50 vote along party lines, did not agree to a motion to discharge from the Foreign Relations Committee a resolution sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.”
* Unionizing at the Kennedy Center: “Staffers at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said Thursday that they plan to form a union in response to several waves of layoffs and what they describe as a lack of transparency from leaders at the arts institution, which President Donald Trump took over in February.”
* And speaking of the news at the intersection of politics and culture, Donald Trump threw odd online tantrums targeting Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift, which is the sort of thing that would ordinarily seem bizarre, but which has since become the background noise of our civic lives.
Have a safe weekend.
