📌 Tariffs Illegal Says California, Space Aliens, More

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is contesting President Trump’s executive authority to enact international tariffs lawfully.

The legal action argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) that Trump cited to impose tariffs does not grant the president the ability to adopt tariffs unilaterally on goods imported to the US. The suit from California is the first challenge from any state against Trump’s trade policy.

“No state is poised to lose more than the state of California,” Newsom said about Trump’s tariffs. “That’s why we’re asserting ourselves on behalf of 40 million Americans.” Newsom said he chose to take action after absorbing the effects of the tariffs over the last few weeks.

“He is betraying the people that supported him,” Newsom said. “Donald Trump has turned his back on his supporters.”

Under the IEEPA, Trump has implemented 10% baseline tariffs on all imported goods, higher taxes on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, and specific levies on products and materials such as autos and aluminum. The president threatened and then paused additional tariffs on other nations until this summer.

The tariffs appear to be on weak legal ground, said Stratos Pahis, an associate professor of law. He said the Trade Act is the normal basis for the executive to impose or raise tariffs, which has substantive and procedural constraints. IEEPA hasn’t been used for tariffs and does not explicitly mention tariffs.

President Donald Trump blocked a planned Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites in favor of negotiating a deal.

Israel had developed plans to attack the sites in May, reported

The New York Times

, citing administration officials and others, adding the goal was to set back Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon by a year or more. It said US assistance was needed to defend Israel and ensure the attack’s success.

Trump decided to seek negotiations with Iran rather than support military action. The US and Iran held talks in Oman last Saturday — the first time during a Trump administration, including his 2017–2021 first term. Both countries described the talks as "positive" and “constructive".

A second round is scheduled for Saturday, and a source briefed on the planning said the meeting was likely to be held in Rome.

Astronomers have found the strongest evidence yet for life on exoplanet K2-18b, but caution is urged until findings are verified.

K2-18b, discovered in 2015, is in the habitable zone of its star and has shown signs of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane. Recent observations using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detected dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), molecules produced by life on Earth.

The detection of DMS and DMDS is at a three-sigma level of statistical significance, but the standard for a true discovery is five-sigma. Verification by other groups is needed, and the process of interpreting JWST data is complex and time-consuming.

Some scientists remain skeptical, noting that previous three-sigma detections for K2-18b have not held up under scrutiny. Further observations with JWST could help reach the five-sigma level, but the difficulty of measuring the planet's atmosphere poses challenges.

If proven, the discovery would be a significant advance, indicating possible biological activity far greater than on Earth. Ruling out non-biological explanations will require extensive study and K2-18b may remain a viable biosignature candidate for a long time.

Salmon face challenges from pharmaceutical pollution, namely the drug clobazam, which alters their migration behavior.

Clobazam, from a group of medicines called benzodiazepines that depress the central nervous system, is common in wastewater. It affects salmon by causing them to reach the ocean sooner and navigate obstacles faster, researchers found.

While this might seem beneficial, the alteration of natural behavior by psychoactive substances is concerning and its full impact on salmon health, behavior, and reproduction is unknown, researchers say.

The study tracked juvenile salmon in a natural river system with realistic drug concentrations, highlighting the risks of pharmaceutical pollutants to wildlife.

Researchers used sound-transmitting tags to track over 700 young salmon in Sweden, finding that clobazam-exposed salmon reached the Baltic Sea more successfully than others.

Clobazam affected salmon shoaling behavior, making them swim farther apart even when predators were near, indicating reduced natural fear responses. They also navigated hydropower dams faster, but this increased risk-taking could make them more vulnerable to ocean predators.

The Internal Revenue Service is reviewing Harvard University’s tax-exempt status, say two sources familiar with the matter.

If revoked, commentators say it would be an extraordinary step of retaliation as the Trump administration seeks to turn up the pressure on the university that has defied its demands to change its hiring and other practices. A final decision is expected soon, the sources said.

The administration has already blocked over $2 billion in funding from the nation’s oldest university, which is fighting the White House’s policy demands, citing the constitutional right of private universities to determine its teaching practices.

President Donald Trump raised the idea of punishing the Ivy League university for not complying with what the administration has sought to portray as a campaign to fight antisemitism.

“Perhaps Harvard should lose its tax-exempt status and be taxed as a political entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist-inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’ Remember, tax-exempt status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon told CNN: “I certainly think, you know, in elitist schools, especially that have these incredibly large endowments, you know, we should probably have a look into that.” McMahon added it is her “guess” that the IRS is also looking at other universities’ tax-exempt statuses.

Donald Trump’s administration could be held in criminal contempt after ignoring a federal judge’s court order.

A court order was given to turn planes around carrying alleged Venezuelan gang members summarily deported to a Salvadoran prison under the president’s use of a wartime law.

In a ruling on Wednesday, Judge James Boasberg said the government’s failure to return those flights to the US demonstrates “a willful disregard” that is “sufficient for the Court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the Government in criminal contempt.”

Boasberg wrote: “The Court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given Defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions.” He added: “None of their responses has been satisfactory.”

Flights were in the air on March 15 when Boasberg ordered the administration to turn the planes around following a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union that challenged their clients’ removal.

Officials must either return those immigrants by April 23 or submit a filing that identifies who ultimately decided to ignore the judge’s orders. If that’s “unsatisfactory,” administration officials will be hauled to court to testify or be deposed by plaintiffs, the judge wrote.

A San Diego Zoo security camera captured an elephant herd forming a protective circle in the city’s recent earthquake.

The magnitude 5.2 earthquake originated about 3 miles south of Julian, southern California, and affected the region south to Tijuana. The herd at the zoo consisted of three female elephants and two calves, who were startled by the quake.

The elephants formed an ‘alert circle,’ a defensive formation where adults encircle their young with tusks and trunks outward to protect against predators.

Elephants can feel sound through their feet, making earthquakes particularly frightening for them.

“The herd, consisting of Ndlula, Umngani, Khosi, and youngsters Zuli and Mkhaya, went back to normal after about 4 minutes, though they did stay close to one another,” a San Diego Zoo spokesperson said.