Geoff Bennett:
Though this was the first Israeli attack on Beirut since last year, the Israeli army has struck targets in Southern Lebanon almost daily since the cease-fire took effect.
Here at home, the U.S. State Department told Congress today that it intends to effectively shut down USAID. And late this afternoon, a federal appeals court allowed them to do so, lifting a lower court order that blocked Elon Musk’s DOGE team from making cuts to the independent foreign aid agency.
In a memo sent to staff today, USAID’s new chief said that all positions not required by law will be eliminated in two waves in July and in September. The State Department will absorb what remains of a dramatic reorganization.
Utah has become the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water. That’s despite opposition from dentists and public health experts, who say fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities, the most common chronic disease in children. Utah’s ban starts in may and echoes the skepticism of new HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who joined the governor of West Virginia today to tout that state’s first-in-the-nation ban on certain synthetic food dyes.
Some public health advocates cite research that links certain bright-colored food dyes to neurobehavioral problems in some children like ADHD.
President Trump says he wants to wipe out what he calls divisive narratives and improper ideology at the Smithsonian Institution. The president signed an executive order late yesterday putting Vice President J.D. Vance in charge of the effort. The order singled out the National Museum of African American History and culture, as well as the still-developing Women’s History Museum.
Mr. Trump claims there’s been an effort to rewrite history based on what he says is ideology, rather than truth. The Smithsonian consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. It’s the largest museum, education and research complex in the world.
And new data today that showed worsening inflation led to a wipeout on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average lost more than 700 points, while the sell-off hit the Nasdaq especially hard, dropping nearly 3 percent. The S&P 500 dropped 2 percent, capping the worst trading day in almost three weeks.
Still to come on the “News Hour”: the security vulnerabilities of government officials using the Signal messaging app; David Brooks and Ruth Marcus weigh in on the week’s political headlines; and a new book from two political scientists sharply criticizes the government response to the COVID pandemic.