News Wrap: Trump administration revokes Harvard’s ability to enroll international students

Read the Full Transcript

• Amna Nawaz:

  We start the day's other headlines with the Trump administration's escalating battle with Harvard University.

  The Department of Homeland Security says it's revoking the school's ability to enroll international students. In a statement, the agency said that even — quote — "existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status."

  This comes after officials demanded last month that Harvard turn over information about foreign students that might connect them to violence or protests. The school has not done so. Harvard enrolls nearly 6,800 foreign students, making up about a quarter of its total student body. A spokesperson called today's action unlawful.

  Also today, a federal judge blocked President Trump's executive order to shut down the Department of Education. He also directed the administration to reinstate the employees who were laid off in recent mass firings. It's a major setback to Trump's goal of dismantling the department.

  In his order, Judge Myong Joun of Massachusetts said the administration's efforts painted a — quote — "stark picture of irreparable harm, leading to the loss of essential services for America's most vulnerable student populations." The department says it will challenge the order.

  A divided Supreme Court today rejected a bid by the Catholic Church of Oklahoma to establish what would have been the nation's first religious charter school. The justices came to a rare tie vote, 4-4, after Amy Coney Barrett recused herself. The outcome affirmed the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to block the online Catholic charter school, which aimed to incorporate Catholic teachings into its curriculum and activities. But it leaves the issue unresolved nationally over whether the First Amendment allows states to fund such schools.

  On Capitol Hill, the Senate voted to block California's plan to phase out gas-powered cars by the year 2035.

• Man:

  The ayes are 51. The nays are 44. The joint resolution is passed.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Today's vote is a blow to California's effort to lead the country's shift toward electric vehicles. The Senate also blocked two other rules that would curb emissions from trucks and heavy-duty vehicles in the state. All three resolutions now go to the White House for President Trump to sign.

  California's Governor Gavin Newsom and state air regulators say they plan to sue to keep the rules in place.

  In San Diego, a music talent agency says that three of its employees died when a private plane crashed into a neighborhood in foggy weather. Aviation officials say that includes the company's co-founder, who's listed as the owner of the plane. It happened around 4:00 a.m. in the nation's largest area for military housing. Jet fuel spread far beyond the crash site and pooled into the streets as crews rushed families to safety.

  By sunrise, the damage was in full view, cars and homes now charred and plane debris scattered. Officials say the aircraft made a direct hit into this house here, but nobody on the ground was killed.

• Dan Eddy, San Diego, California, Fire Chief:

  We were lucky in that fact that no one from those homes was injured that we have had so far. We had some possible minor injuries, but no one was transported from the scene from any of the housing units. But everything that's a fatality right now appears to be from the plane itself.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Police say close to 100 people were moved to an evacuation center nearby. Authorities say they're investigating whether the aircraft hit a power line.

  Forecasters are expecting an above-average year for hurricanes with the start of the season set to begin on June 1. According to the annual outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we can expect 13 to 19 named storms this year, meaning a tropical storm or higher. As many as 10 of those could become hurricanes. And three to five could be major hurricanes with winds stronger than 110 miles an hour.

  Officials said they don't expect this year to be as devastating as 2024, which was the third costliest on record. But they said climate change continues to make hurricanes more likely.

• Ken Graham, Director, National Hurricane Center:

  Really, the warmer ocean temperatures is really consistent with us being in a more active season, more active period of time, more active era associated with the hurricane activity. So we're seeing that.

• Amna Nawaz:

  This hurricane season comes after massive job losses at NOAA amid a broader Trump administration pushed to cut the federal work force. Officials today stressed that the National Hurricane Center is fully staffed.

  On Wall Street today, stocks ended little change to amid ongoing concerns about the us government's debt. The Dow Jones industrial average lost just a single point, so basically flat. The Nasdaq eked out a modest gain of about, 50 points. The S&P 500 ended just a few points into negative territory.

  And the humble penny's days looked to be numbered. The Treasury Department said today it's made its final order of penny blanks, which is the raw material for creating the currency. The penny now costs about 3.7 cents to manufacture, so more than it's worth. Last year, the U.S. Mint made 3.2 billion of them, which was more than half of all new coins. Officials say that stopping production would save about $56 million each year.

  The penny traces its roots back to the earliest days of the nation and the creation of the U.S. Mint in 1792.

Improved audio player available on our mobile page