Science, Policy, and Other News that Caught My Eye

Or blew my mind the week of June 1st - 7th

Greetings, SciLight readers,

I’ll start with a few items about Trump’s travel ban:

• Trump bars foreign nationals from entering US to study at Harvard – BUT Judge puts temporary hold on Trump's latest ban on Harvard's foreign students and more here

• This Harvard student’s grandmother sold her land and cattle to help get him from Kenya to Cambridge. Now what?

• What’s happening to Harvard happened in Hungary first

• Trump’s International Student Ban Sparks Fear Among Harvard Attendees - The New York Times : “Harvard Taught This British Student About Democracy. Now Trump May Force Him Out.”

• Trump travel ban: Muslim ban of 2017 echoes throughout Massachusetts --‘A sledgehammer instead of a scalpel’: Trump’s new travel ban against 12 countries met with shock, resignation

Then, per usual, below is a smattering of other news items that caught my attention or disrupted my equanimity this past week. What caught your eye? Tell us in the comments.

And be sure to scroll down for some fun news. Because we can all use some levity in these challenging times.

• The honeymoon is over.

  • Trump ‘very disappointed’ in Musk, rebuking his political ally - The Washington Post;

  • Live Updates: Trump Threatens to Cut Elon Musk's Government Contracts as Feud Escalates - The New York Times

  • The Breakup

  • Tesla Shares Slide as Trump-Elon Musk Feud Escalates - The New York Times

• OOPS….Trump administration scrambles to rehire fired federal employees - The Washington Post

• As the Trump Administration Slashes Federal Spending, Scientists Consider Leaving the U.S. - The New York Times

• The Government Is Investigating Whether DEI Causes Plane Crashes - The Atlantic

• Budget plan slashes science and staffing at EPA, NOAA, and Park Service - The Daily Climate

• Trump administration halting of EPA climate grants strands cities with urgent infrastructure needs - The Daily Climate

• White House proposal would shut down the nation’s top chemical safety agency - EHN – which “will mean more chemical disasters choking our communities with toxic fumes, upending lives, and threatening the health and property of those living and working close by.”

• Trump rejects tradition with Oval Office visits that worry some leaders - The Washington Post

• Trump long disparaged Haitians before new travel ban

• Trump administration revokes guidance to hospitals on emergency abortions | AP News

• You Can’t Erase the Truth - by Dan Rather and Team Steady “Hegseth has already deleted Pentagon webpages and erased photographs of prominent Black, Latino, and female members of the U.S. military. He has fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a Black four-star general, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard, a female admiral.”

• Shameful…. Energy dominance first. Life, health, & safety a distant second. Oil Industry Asks Trump Administration to Kill Heat Safety Rule | Scientific American

  And Just for Fun or Entertainment

• Late Night Revels in Trump and Musk’s Public Feud - The New York Times

• 10 New Books We Recommend This Week - The New York Times Add your suggestions in the comments.

• Clever Cockatoos Have Figured Out How to Drink From Water Fountains - The New York Times

That’s it for today - Thank you so much for reading SciLight!

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