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Trump Administration News: Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Use of Alien Enemies Act for Deportations

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/05/16/us/trump-news

Trump Appointee Pressed Analyst to Redo Intelligence on Venezuelan Gang

The move followed a disclosure that intelligence agencies disagree with a key factual claim Trump made to invoke a wartime deportation law.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/trump-appointee-venezuela-gang.html

A Reality Show Where Immigrants Compete for U.S. Citizenship? D.H.S. Is Considering It.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said the agency was happy to review “out-of-the-box pitches.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/homeland-security-immigration-reality-show.html

Inside Trump’s Trip to the Middle East: Adulation and Not a Whiff of Protests

At every step of President Trump’s whirlwind tour, he has been treated with the kind of honor and respect he has long desired.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/world/middleeast/trump-uae-qatar-saudi-arabia.html

Secret Service Questions Comey Over ‘86 47’ Social Media Post About Trump

Administration officials had said the post — a picture of seashells forming the numbers “86 47” — amounted to an assassination threat by the former F.B.I. director.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/secret-service-comey-social-media-trump.html

Republican Revolt Reflects a Core Party Divide Over Spending and Debt

Whether the ultraconservatives dig in and force big changes to the megabill carrying President Trump’s agenda or capitulate, as they have in the past, will determine the fate of their party’s signature legislation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/republican-divide-spending-debt.html

Moody’s Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating Below Triple-A

Now all three major credit rating firms no longer give the United States their best rating.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/business/us-credit-downgrade-moodys.html

Democrats Who Championed Biden’s Re-election Bid Now Seek Atonement

With their party facing record low approval ratings, many top Democrats are trying to reposition themselves from Biden boosters to truth-tellers of what really happened in 2024.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/democrats-biden-2024.html

Audio Clip of Biden Special Counsel Interview Is Released, Showing Verbal Stumbles

Republicans have long sought to make public a recording of the 2023 interview, arguing that it might offer evidence of a decline in Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s mental acuity.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/politics/trump-hur-biden-special-counsel-audio-age.html

Russian Drone Strikes Shuttle Bus in Ukraine

The strike came hours after the first face-to-face talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations since the early days of the war.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/world/europe/russia-ukraine-putin.html

Who Are the Favorites to Win Eurovision?

KAJ, representing Sweden with an ode to the sauna, is the bookmakers’ favorite, but singers from France, Austria, the Netherlands and Finland are also causing a stir.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/arts/music/eurovision-song-contest-favorites.html

Eurovision 2025 Final: Time, Running Order and How to Watch

It has never been easier, no matter where in the world you are.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/arts/television/how-to-watch-eurovision-final-running-order.html

10 New Orleans Inmates Escape Jail Through Cell Wall Where Toilet Was Removed

Three escapees had been captured by Friday night. The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office said the inmates might have had help from jail workers.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/new-orleans-jail-escape.html

Under Fire From Trump’s Tariffs, Ammo Makers in a Balkan Valley Hunker Down

Companies that make ammunition in the Bosnian city of Gorazde fear they may not survive the tariffs imposed on the goods that they send to their biggest market — the United States.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/world/europe/bosnia-trump-tariffs-ammunition.html

U.A.E. Is Pouring Money Into Africa, Seeking Resources and Power

As the United States and other economic powers reduce their investment, aid and presence in Africa, the United Arab Emirates is wielding its wealth.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/business/uae-africa-finance.html

A Century-Old Romance That Gave the Pope His Family Name

Online genealogists found that Pope Leo’s paternal grandparents in Chicago were accused of having an “illicit affair” in the 1910s, adding another layer to the pope’s complex family history.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/us/pope-leo-grandfather.html

How the Democratic Party Closed Its Eyes to Biden’s Decline

More than lying to the public, too many Democrats were lying to themselves.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/opinion/biden-age-democrats-coverup.html

Selling Off Our Public Lands Is a Bad Idea

Selling off public lands threatens more than a century of progress for one of America’s most vital and popular shared experiments.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/opinion/trump-sell-public-lands.html

Justices Extended Block on Deportations Under Wartime Law

Also, a New Jersey Transit strike left commuters scrambling. Here’s the latest at the end of Friday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/briefing/supreme-court-deportations-transit-strike-new-jersey.html

India Is Accused of Inhumane Deportation of Rohingya Refugees

The allegations, which include being pushed into the sea off Myanmar with only life jackets, have prompted a call from the United Nations for an investigation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/world/asia/india-rohingya-sea-deport.html

Gunfire in Gaza as Israel Says Its Troops Are Mobilizing

The military said intensified airstrikes over the past day were preparation for a new Israeli plan to move farther into Gaza and seize more territory.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/17/world/middleeast/israel-troops-gaza.html

Couple Imprisoned Girl for 7 Years and Kept Her in Dog Cage, Police Say

Investigators, who did not identify the teenager, now 18, said they believed she had been sexually abused by her stepfather.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/nyregion/new-jersey-girl-dog-cage.html

Tornadoes Strike Missouri, Killing at Least Seven

Widespread damage was reported, including toppled trees and power lines. The tornadoes were part of a larger weather system that threatened numerous states.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/weather/storms-missouri-kentucky-indiana-illinois.html