📌 Scientists Let Go, Haitian Gangs ‘Terrorists’

The Trump administration dismissed over 400 scientists who had begun to write the latest National Climate Assessment report.

The report, mandated by Congress, is prepared every four years under a 1990 law. It details the latest science on climate change and also reports on progress in addressing global warming. The scientists were told by email that the scope of the report was being reevaluated.

The report is prepared by scientists and experts who volunteer their time. They were working on what would be the sixth assessment since the first report came out in 2000.

Scientists said they fear the Trump administration could seek to shut down the effort or enlist other authors to write a very different report that seeks to attack climate science — a path they say would leave the country ill-prepared for worsening disasters intensified by humanity’s warming of the planet.

Project 2025, the conservative blueprint written by Trump’s allies last year, argues that the National Climate Assessment and other climate change research programs reduce the scope of the president’s decision-making powers and that of federal agencies. It also says the process should include more diverse viewpoints.

The most recent National Climate Assessment, released in 2023, detailed the latest science on more extreme heat waves, wildfires and other disasters, and said that without deeper cuts in emissions and faster adaptation efforts, “severe climate risks to the United States will continue to grow.”

The Trump administration has told Congress it intends to designate Haitian gangs as foreign terrorists.

In a notification sent to congressional committees, the Trump administration said it intends to designate the Haitian gangs Viv Ansamm and Gran Grif as foreign terrorist organizations, said two people familiar with the message, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.

The State Department had similarly labeled eight Latin American crime organizations as it ratcheted up pressure on cartels operating in the US and anyone assisting them. The move indicates that the administration plans to put similar pressure on gangs from Haiti.

The designation carries with it sanctions and penalties for anyone providing “material support” for the group. It follows a Trump administration move in February to nix protections that shielded half a million Haitians from deportation.

The foreign terrorist organization label has typically been reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group, but applying it to Haitian gangs means that the Trump White House is expanding the longstanding US definition of foreign terrorism.

Gangs control at least 85% of Haiti’s capital, with Viv Ansanm attacking once peaceful communities in recent weeks in a bid to control even more territory. Over 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year, with gang violence leaving over 1 million homeless in the country of nearly 12 million people, the UN said.

President Donald Trump is in the midst of a 100-day mark tour, even with some outlets he has long deemed “fake news.”

With many polls showing his approval rating slipping, Trump has given interviews to outlets like Time and The Atlantic, on a schedule that also included a Michigan rally earlier last night. A prime time interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran provided the opportunity for challenging questions and follow-ups.

Throughout the hour, Trump sparred with him not only over deportation, but his tariff policy, Ukraine and Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts. At one point he called Moran’s questions “fake,” and said that a question about Pete Hegseth was “stupid.” Toward the end of the interview, Trump said ABC “is one of the worst.”

On the economy, Trump insisted that costs are “headed in the right direction,” even though business leaders are warning of signs that inflation will rise and a recession is coming because of the president’s tariff policy.

Moran asked, “People are worried, and some people who voted for you are saying, ‘I didn’t sign up for this.’ So, how do you answer those concerns?”Trump said they did sign up for it, as it was a key part of his campaign. He said he spoke of how the US was getting ripped off by other countries in trade.

Trump commented: “I’ve been here for three months. I’ve taken a trade deficit down to a number that’s starting to get really good. … I’m making America great again.” Then he went into Biden. “He should never have been there. The election was rigged.”

South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics said US tariffs could cut demand for smartphones.

Samsung said it expected its semiconductor business to encounter greater uncertainties throughout the year, while its smartphone shipments faced downward pressure in the second quarter.

The cautious outlook from one of the world's biggest electronics manufacturers reflects the uncertainties roiling global trade due to President Donald Trump's tariff war, and comes a day after General Motors pulled its annual forecast.

Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, most of which have been suspended until July, threaten to hit dozens of countries, including Vietnam and South Korea, where Samsung produces smartphones and displays.

Samsung's mobile device and network business reported a 23% rise in profit in the first quarter, helped by the latest version of the flagship Galaxy S model with AI features. Samsung accelerated smartphone production in Vietnam, India and South Korea ahead of the US duties, a source said.

How long people live in the US varies significantly depending on where they reside.

Comparing the life expectancy of people born in 1900–2000, a study finds that in many southern states, life expectancy changed very little, especially for women. But in several states in the Northeast and West, as well as in Washington, D.C., it improved significantly.

Ranked among the worst states for longevity improvements over the last century, West Virginia's life expectancy for women born in 2000 rose to just 75.3 years, one year longer than its life expectancy for women born in 1900, the study says. For West Virginian men, life expectancy increased by about 9 years.

By comparison, the study showed the life expectancy for women born in New York in 2000 is about 92 years, roughly two decades longer than for those born in 1900. New York men’s life expectancy is about 88 years for the same period, almost 28 years longer.

Life expectancy nationwide increased far more for men from 1900 to 2000 than it did for women, a pattern that held in individual states. Overall, women's life expectancy by birth cohort grew from 73.8 to 84.1 years, while men's rose from 62.8 to 80.3 years.

The study, which analyzed 179 million deaths around the US, also found that longevity for men typically plateaued around 1950. Researchers said life expectancy increased by less than 2 years for men in many states since 1950.

A research scientist who co-authored the study said the findings in the Northeast and West were to be expected, considering the advances in medical practices and health regulations. But he was surprised by the little change, “especially for women, in some of those southern states — some of them didn't change at all.”

Vietnam today celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the US and the formation of its modern nation.

The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, marked the end of a Vietnam divided into the communist North and US-allied South, and the country’s top official told crowds the past decades had led to ever-increasing unity.

Thousands camped overnight on the streets of the former South Vietnamese capital, renamed Ho Chi Minh City after it fell to North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, to get the best vantage point for the parade. Many stayed and ate picnics while waiting for drone and fireworks shows.

To Lam, the Vietnam Communist Party’s general secretary, said the fall of Saigon was a “glorious landmark” that ended a 30-year fight for independence that began with the fight to oust French colonial troops.

In 2023, Vietnam upgraded its relations with the US to that of a comprehensive strategic partner, its highest diplomatic status and the same relations as China and Russia. But President Donald Trump’s imposition of 46% tariffs and cancellation of much foreign aid have affected US war remediation efforts.

A baby vulture at a New York zoo is being fed not by another bird but by a hand puppet.

The decades-old technique ensures the chick doesn’t identify too closely with its human handlers. King vultures can neglect their chicks, so hand-feeding is necessary to ensure the baby survives, the Bronx Zoo said. Staff train the bird’s instincts onto a hand puppet that’s crafted to look like a real vulture.

“At this stage of development, our animal care staff are feeding the chick with the Bronx Zoo-made puppet once a day, and we are working to ensure it does not imprint on humans,” Bronx Zoo Curator of Ornithology Chuck Cerbini said.

An adult king vulture is placed in an adjacent enclosure that “allows the chick to have exposure to appropriate king vulture behavior,” Cerbini said.

The king vulture chick, which is yet to be named, is the first of its kind to be hatched at the Bronx Zoo since the 1990s. The zoo said it wants to make sure the genetics of the chick’s 55-year-old father are carried on, as it has only one other living offspring.