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Trump's G7 exit, NIH's grants rebuke and a lawyers' lawsuit

 
Today's INTERNATIONAL story

Trump leaves G7 early, warns Tehran to evacuate

What happened
President Donald Trump returned to Washington from Canada early this morning, leaving the G7 summit in Alberta a day early "because of what's going on in the Middle East," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last night. Trump posted and spoke about the escalating Israel-Iran conflict throughout yesterday, saying Iran should have taken the nuclear "deal" he had offered, suggesting an accord was still "achievable," then warning, "Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!"

Who said what
It was "not clear what triggered" Trump's "ominous and somewhat cryptic" warning "casually calling for the evacuation of a city of 10 million people," Politico said. He may have been "privy to new plans by Israel to strike at additional targets inside Iran, or simply trying to scare Tehran back into nuclear talks," but the White House and the Pentagon "sought to clarify in nearly identical posts" that U.S. forces in the region remained "in a 'defensive' posture and were not about to join Israel's offensive." 

Previous presidents have also "cut short trips to the G7," The Washington Post said, but Trump's abrupt departure "came in a far more ominous context as the United States expands its military presence in the Middle East," sending over the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier and more than two dozen tanker planes.

Trump is returning to the White House for "urgent talks with his national security team" and a "moment of choosing" with "enormous political risk," The Associated Press said. He could help Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "deal a permanent blow to Tehran's nuclear program" by dropping 30,000-pound U.S. bunker-busting bombs on Iran's deep-underground Fordo enrichment facility, or he could avoid "deepening American involvement" in the war — but either choice could cause a "schism" among "Trump's MAGA supporters."

What next?
For now, Trump "can afford to keep one foot in both camps," talking tough to Iran for the GOP hawks while "making one more run at coercive diplomacy" for the "America First" noninterventionists, The New York Times said. "But if the combination of persuasion and coercion fails, he will have to decide whether this is Israel's war or America's."

 
 
Today's HEALTH story

Judge orders Trump's NIH grant cuts reversed

What happened
A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled yesterday that the Trump administration’s decision to cancel more than $1 billion in National Institutes of Health research grants was illegal and discriminatory, and ordered most of the funding restored. The grants were largely directed toward research covering the health of racial minorities, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. 

Who said what
The abrupt cancellation of the grants was a result of the administration's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Yesterday's decision settled two lawsuits, one from a group of Democratic-led states and the other from a coalition of researchers and unions led by the American Public Health Association. It "marked at least a temporary win for the academic community," The New York Times said.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge William Young, a Ronald Reagan appointee, said he had "never seen government racial discrimination like this" in his four decades on the bench, adding: "I would be blind not to call it out. My duty is to call it out." Young's "sweeping rebuke" marked an "extraordinary departure for a federal judge of any era,” said Politico. White House spokesperson Kush Desai said it was "appalling that a federal judge would use court proceedings to express his political views and preferences."

What next?
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the agency "stands by its decision to end funding for research that prioritized ideological agendas" and was considering an appeal.

 
 
Today's LEGAL Story

ABA sues Trump over 'law firm intimidation policy'

What happened
The American Bar Association yesterday sued President Donald Trump's administration over its ongoing effort to punish high-profile law firms that have apparently angered or offended the president, or employed lawyers he dislikes.

Who said what
Trump, through his "law firm intimidation policy," has "used the vast powers of the executive branch to coerce lawyers and law firms to abandon clients, causes and policy positions the president does not like," casting a "blizzard-like chill" over the legal profession and the "rule of law itself," the ABA said in its suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. 

In separate lawsuits, four law firms targeted by Trump have challenged his actions, and "judges have struck down three of the orders, calling them unconstitutional," while the fourth firm, Susman Godfrey, won temporary protection, The Washington Post said. Trump's "deals with nine prominent law firms have outraged many attorneys" and prompted a "wave" of resignations. Despite the successful challenges, "thousands of lawyers" don't have the "resources to withstand that intimidation" and need defending, ABA President William Bay said. Susman Godfrey is representing the ABA in its suit.

What next?
The ABA seeks a "broad order" that would declare Trump's attacks on all law firms "unconstitutional," said Bloomberg Law. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said the lawsuit was "clearly frivolous."

 
 

It's not all bad

Musicians and production staff have a new support system they can tap into on the road. The Music Industry Therapy Collective recently launched its Online Tour Health and Welfare Coaching service, offering 24/7 mental health care. Expert practitioners with music industry experience are on hand to help with depression, insomnia, stress, burnout, loneliness and substance use recovery. The confidential service is available to touring professionals anywhere in the world.

 
 
Under the radar

Elon Musk has no shortage of targets for his ire: the media, "woke" progressives, the trans "agenda" and, most recently, his former best buddy Donald Trump. But one somewhat unexpected Musk adversary is more powerful than them all: the Sun. 

SpaceX's many Starlink internet service satellites are "dropping like flies" due to a solar weather phenomenon, said the science news site Futurism. And it's only set to get worse. 

The thousands of Starlink satellites orbiting our planet have given space scientists a "golden opportunity to study the effects" of the Sun's activity on the lifespan of these "minimalist, constellation-based spacecraft," said Futurism. And it appears that Musk's "space internet constellation" is "particularly prone to the effect of geomagnetic storms" triggered by eruptions from the Sun, The Independent added. NASA scientists have found that these "ferocious solar storms" are causing many of Musk's low-orbit satellites to fall to Earth "faster than expected." The impact is particularly significant now because the Sun is approaching the peak of an 11-year activity cycle, known as the solar maximum, that provokes "large amounts of extreme space weather." 

Unfortunately for Musk, the Sun is not an adversary he will be able to overcome easily. Solar storm forecasting "has significantly improved over the past few years," U.S. aerospace engineering professor Piyush Mehta wrote on The Conversation in 2022, but "there is only so much shielding that can be done in the face of a powerful geomagnetic storm". The Sun is "essential for life to go on," said Mehta, but, like a child who often throws tantrums, "its ever-changing disposition makes things challenging."

 
 
On this day

June 17, 1994

Former football star O.J. Simpson was arrested on charges of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Simpson was acquitted following a highly contentious and publicized trial in Los Angeles, with feelings about the verdict falling largely along racial lines. The saga is often considered one of America's "trials of the century."

 
 
TODAY'S newspaperS

"Poorest households may feel more pain than gain from bill" Republicans passed in the House and are modifying in the Senate, The Washington Post says on Tuesday's front page. "Trump's big tax bill may be a big filing headache," The Boston Globe says. "Families debate the value of college," as more choose "tech schools," says USA Today. "Young grads looking for work confront employment crisis," The Wall Street Journal says. "Suspect charged in Minnesota after shooting of lawmakers," The New York Times says. "Murder case against Vance Boelter could result in a rare death penalty," says The Minnesota Star Tribune.

► See the newspaper front pages

 
 
Tall tale

Grand theft autonomy

A couple whose Jaguar was stolen from outside their London home said they took matters into their own hands by "stealing" it back after police couldn't say when they would have time to investigate the theft. An AirTag hidden inside the vehicle helped Mia Forbes Pirie and Mark Simpson track down their vehicle, and while the pursuit was "kind of fun," Forbes Pirie wrote on social media, she also wondered, “What is the incentive for people not to do more of this?”

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Theara Coleman, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Jessica Hullinger, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Chas Newkey-Burden, Devika Rao, Rafi Schwartz and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.

Image credits, from top: Suzanne Plunkett-Pool / Getty Images; Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images; Stephen Lam / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Getty Images