India strikes deep into Pakistan
India has fired missiles into Pakistan, resulting in damage to buildings and casualties. Pakistan claimed that it shot down five Indian fighter jets. Pakistan and India have been in a conflict for years over control of Kashmir. India said its strike against Pakistan was in retaliation for an attack by militants that killed about two dozen tourists in India’s territory in Kashmir. Pakistan called India’s action a blatant act of war. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was reported engaging in diplomacy in the hopes of preventing the conflict from escalating. Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons.
Trump scores Supreme Court victory
In what’s being described as a major victory for Donald Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court in a split decision has ruled that the Trump Administration can ban transgender people from serving in the military. A lower court had ruled that the ban violates the Constitutional rights of the people who are banned from military service. The Supreme Court sided with the administration that argued that allowing transgender people to serve would interfere with military readiness. The court’s three liberal justices dissented from the opinion by the court’s conservative majority.
Canadian prime minister at White House
 Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Trump met at the White House and Trump said he still wants Canada to become a U.S. state. Carney told Trump that will never happen and also stated that Canada is not for sale. Trump told Carney, “Never say never.” Carney did say that Canada is open to continuing the good relations it has had in the past with the U.S. Trump said he doesn’t want cars from Canada and indicated tariffs on cars and car parts would remain in effect. Carney said what Trump is doing violates the Canada-Mexico-U.S. trade agreement that Trump negotiated during his first term and there will need to be changes.
Half-empty ships arriving in U.S. from China
CNN reports that cargo ships carrying goods from China that are subject to Trump’s 145% tariffs are only half full. CNN says that shipping experts believe the trend will continue, leading to shortages. The Port of Los Angeles had expected that 80 ships from China would arrive there during May, but now reports that almost 20 have been cancelled and cancellations for June already are starting to be recorded. CNN quotes a shipping broker as saying that there will be 60% fewer containers with products arriving from China.
REAL ID requirement begins
Even though the requirement to have a REAL ID in order to fly and enter government buildings went into effect today, the Transportation Security Administration says that people who show up at airports without a REAL ID will be allowed to fly after additional screening. Millions of people have not upgraded their driver licenses and many do not have current passports, military ID cards, or other alternate documents. TSA indicates that people who do not have documents that meet the requirements of REAL ID should allow at least an extra 30 minutes for additional screening at an airport.
Trump removes vice-chairman of NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent, nonpolitical agency that is the world leader in investigating transportation accidents. Donald Trump has fired the agency’s Vice Chairman Alvin Brown, who is Black and the only Black among the board’s five members. The NTSB has been investigating a string of aviation accidents that occurred since Trump took office for his second term. The White House did not give a reason for removing Brown from the post. It’s believed to be the first time the White House has removed someone who was serving as a member of the NTSB.
