Hello, readers – happy Friday! Today, we’ll be talking about the Department of Education, the tax bill, North Korea’s botched launch, an island deal, Harvard’s latest hit, the end of pennies, and a new (maybe improved?) way to watch sports. 

Here’s some good news: Italy’s courts ruled that same-sex female couples who use IVF abroad can both be legally recognized as parents in Italy, even if one is not the biological mother. Also, India's Asiatic lion population has increased by over a third to 891 thanks to conservation efforts.

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“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe

The Judge, From The Top Rope!

Another week, another meddling judge foiling Trump’s plans. On Thursday, a Massachusetts federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking Trump and WWE executive-turned-Education Secretary Linda McMahon from shutting down the Department of Education. The judge also forced McMahon to reinstate the roughly 1,300 Education Department employees she fired in March and “restore the Department to the status quo.”

“A department without enough employees to perform statutorily mandated functions is not a department at all,” wrote the judge in his ruling. “This court cannot be asked to cover its eyes while the Department's employees are continuously fired and units are transferred out until the Department becomes a shell of itself.” 

During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to shut down the department, which has been a longtime target of Republicans. In court, though, Trump’s lawyers instead argued that the sweeping cuts were aimed at making it “more efficient.” Luckily for those 1,300 employees, the judge didn’t swallow the Trump lawyers’ arguments, stating that there was “no evidence that the [reduction-in-force] has actually made the Department more efficient. Rather, the record is replete with evidence of the opposite.” The Trump administration plans to challenge the ruling on an emergency basis.

The Big Beautiful Budget Busts Out Of The House

The GOP-held House of Representatives passed Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” yesterday, sending the massive tax-cut-filled budget to the Senate. The process went surprisingly smoothly given Republicans’ slim House majority, as well as concerns that the sweeping tax cuts might run up government deficits. President Trump appeared happy with the results, writing, “This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!” on TruthSocial.

The budget will continue large tax cuts for individuals and corporations, and make good on Trump’s campaign promises to remove taxes on tips, overtime pay, and car loan interest. Its more interesting features include a $1,000 payment for parents who open a “Trump account” for their children’s savings, as well as cutouts for a wall spanning the U.S.-Mexico border. To pay for all those programs, the White House will cut Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid spending, trading Americans’ food and healthcare to build out Trump’s actual priorities.

Taking The Warship For A Flip

• Over the span of two weeks this spring, the U.S. lost two multimillion-dollar fighter jets, which slid off the deck of an aircraft carrier stationed in the Red Sea. Luckily for the Pentagon, those operational embarrassments are no longer the worst naval flubs of the year. Yesterday, a North Korean warship flipped over on its side in the middle of its launch ceremony, a flub so embarrassing that Kim Jong Un described it as “a criminal act.”

• The ship, a 5,000-ton destroyer-class warship, is apparently still lying on its side in the water, according to South Korean media. North Korea’s state-run KCNA news said that “inexperienced command and operational carelessness” were the cause of the ship flip, adding that “some sections of the warship’s bottom crushed” following the incident.

Shelling Out The Big Bucks For The Naval Base

• Yesterday, the U.K. signed off on a deal to hand the Chagos Islands (located in the middle of the Indian Ocean) to Mauritius. Who cares about a few specks of land surrounded by hundreds of miles of ocean? Well, first, their original inhabitants, who were forcefully removed from the archipelago to make way for a U.S. military base on the islands. Second, the U.S. and U.K., which both want to use the U.S. Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, the aforementioned military base, as a key logistical center in South Asia.

• In a speech announcing the deal yesterday, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the U.S.-operated base is for some reason crucial for British counterterrorism and intelligence, claiming that it’s “right at the foundation of our safety and security at home.” To keep the base in Western hands, the U.K. will return the Chagos Islands – minus the naval base – to Mauritius, and will make payments averaging £101 million ($136 million) annually over the next 99 years. “By agreeing to this deal now on our terms, we’re securing strong protections, including from malign influence, that will allow the base to operate well into the next century, helping to keep us safe for generations to come,” Starmer said.

More Mixed Nuts

• Prisoners to be eligible for release after serving a third of sentence (BBC)

• Net migration to UK down by half in 2024 compared with year before (Guardian)

• German troops start first permanent foreign deployment since second world war (Guardian)

• Leaked Muslim Brotherhood report criticized as ‘alarmist’ by academics and civil society (Politico)

• Hong Kong authorities trying to disrupt independent press with ‘strange’ tax audits (Guardian)

The Law Comes Down On Harvard

• The Trump administration’s beef with Harvard University escalated yet again yesterday. A quick recap: this all started when the Ivy Leaguer refused to follow guidelines set by the Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism that would have defined who the university can hire and admit, and required faculty members to undergo an audit of their beliefs approved by the government.

• Yesterday, the White House cancelled Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification, which means the school cannot enroll international students. The school enrolls nearly 6,800 international students out of a student body of 24,596, and current international students will need to transfer or lose their legal status. Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton called the government’s action “unlawful.”

A Penny Saved…

• The Treasury Department announced yesterday that it plans to stop manufacturing pennies, a move that’s expected to save the Mint about $56 million annually. The 1-cent coin cost about 3.7 cents to manufacture and distribute in 2024, according to the U.S. Mint's annual report.

• Pennies are made mostly of zinc, the cost per metric ton of which is more than double what it was in 2000. The agency placed its final order for penny blanks (flat, metal discs that the Mint turns into coins) this month, and the U.S. Mint will end manufacturing of the penny when that runs out, estimated to be early next year.

More Nuts In America

• Suspect in fatal shooting of 2 Israeli Embassy staff in D.C. wasn't on police's radar. Here is what we know. (CBS)

• RFK Jr. says food and pharma are poisoning Americans. His big report says a fix is coming. (Politico)

• FBI whistleblower claims he tried to get to Musk to warn him he was being targeted by Russia (Guardian)

• Trump says he’s ‘seriously considering’ taking Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public (Guardian)

• Supreme Court blocks Oklahoma from launching taxpayer-funded religious charter school (ABC)

• Senate overrules parliamentarian and votes to undo California EV rule (NPR)

The Olympics, But On Steroids

• Here’s a dumb idea that about 50 podcasters have come up with: “What if we have the Olympics, but everyone’s on performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs)?” Well, those content creators have got their wish: on Wednesday, a new company named “Enhanced Games” announced plans to host those PED-Olympics in Las Vegas next May, with millions of dollars in prizes promised for event winners and record-breakers. 

• In announcing the Enhanced Games, company founder and president Aron D'Souza framed the games as a way to develop “superhumanity,” adding, “We are here to move humanity forward … The old rules didn't just hold back athletes, they held back humanity.” Each event will include a $500,000 purse, half of which will go to the first-place winner, and athletes will also be paid a basic appearance fee. And if any of the drug-fueled competitors break world records in their events, they’ll be paid an additional sum. Sounds great, right?

• According to a new report titled Harm reduction in the Enhanced Games: Can performance enhancing drugs be safe?, researchers write that taking steroids (like most Enhanced Games participants will be doing) can cause a range of adverse health effects, including long-term cardiovascular issues, “acne, shrinking testicles or the development of man boobs,” and “a range of psychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety and mania.” Hopefully, that prize money will help participants pay their hospital bills!

More Loose Nuts

• Jony Ive’s AI gadget rumored to be ‘slightly larger’ than Humane’s AI pin (The Verge)

• Mysterious Database of 184 Million Records Exposes Vast Array of Login Credentials (Wired, $)

• Infrared contact lenses let you see in the dark (Ars Technica)

• Bumps on ancient, armored fish may have given rise to teeth in animals, study finds (CNN)

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Team Thoughts

Kayli - I’ll be honest, I’m intrigued by the steroid Olympics!

Marcus - Insane that we let McMahon, who (allegedly) covered up a series of sexual assaults at the WWE, run the Department of Education.

Editor In Chief: Kayli Woods

Head Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella