5 things to know for May 29: Tariffs, Bird flu, Harvard, Extreme weather, Scientific research

By Jade Walker, CNN

(CNN) — Want to immigrate to America, but don’t want to wait years going through the legal process? Soon you’ll be able to register for a “gold card” visa. The new card will replace the government’s EB-5 immigrant investor visa program, which grants green cards to immigrants who make a $1.8 million investment in the US or put $900,000 into economically distressed zones. “Basically, everyone I meet who is not an American is going to want to buy this card if they have the fiscal capacity,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said. And the new price tag? $5 million.

Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and On with Your Day.

1. Tariffs

President Donald Trump’s economic agenda was thrown into chaos on Wednesday after a federal court ruled that he didn’t have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs. The three-judge panel at the US Court of International Trade ruled in favor of a permanent injunction, one that would block the global tariffs the president announced on “Liberation Day,” citing emergency economic powers. The ruling will also prevent Trump from enforcing the tariffs he placed on imports from Canada, China and Mexico earlier this year. It does not affect the 25% tariffs on autos, auto parts, steel or aluminum, which were subject to a different law than the one Trump cited for his broader trade actions. The administration has appealed the decision.

2. Bird flu

The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated a $590 million contract with Moderna to develop a vaccine that would protect against bird flu. Since 2024, there have been at least 70 cases of avian influenza in humans and one death. The contract was canceled because the drugmaker was studying the effectiveness of an mRNA-based vaccine, which the Trump administration doesn’t trust. Yet mRNA technology is currently used in Moderna’s and Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccines. “The attack on mRNA vaccines is beyond absurd. It was President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed that gave us mRNA vaccines. These vaccines have been administered nearly 2 billion times to hundreds of millions of people around the world — making it one of the most widely used and widely studied vaccines in human history. They are safe and work well,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator during the Biden administration. “If Bird Flu starts spreading from people to people, we will come to regret this as the day we decided to put the lives of the American people at grave risk.”

3. Harvard

Imagine spending years studying, writing essays, doing lab work, taking tests and completing all of the required courses necessary to earn a college degree — only to wonder whether you should attend your own graduation. That’s the situation for many international students at Harvard University, who fear that an immigration-related action will be taken against them during today’s commencement ceremony, a school official spelled out in a court filing. Some international students who were supposed to attend Harvard for future semesters are also reconsidering doing so. Others have had trouble getting student visas to the US at embassies abroad. Three senior government officials told CNN that the State Department is currently reviewing all Harvard-affiliated visa holders, not just students, which is a notable escalation in the Trump administration’s feud with the school.

4. Extreme weather

Global temperatures are forecast to reach record or near-record levels during the next five years, according to a report from two of the world’s top meteorological agencies. The World Meteorological Organization and the UK Met Office predict there is now a 70% chance that global warming will exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius, a rate that will increase the risks of more frequent and intense weather events, such as heat waves and heavy rainfall. “We have just experienced the 10 warmest years on record. Unfortunately, this WMO report provides no sign of respite over the coming years, and this means that there will be a growing negative impact on our economies, our daily lives, our ecosystems and our planet,” WMO Deputy Secretary-General Ko Barrett said.

5. Scientific research

Sixteen states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday over the federal government’s decision to gut research programs at the National Science Foundation. In April, hundreds of grants — mostly related to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and misinformation research — were terminated. Since then, additional cuts have led to the cancellation of 1,753 grants worth nearly $1.4 billion across numerous areas of research. The states allege that eliminating such research will jeopardize the US’s position as a global leader in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and that cutting funding related to diversity was illegal. “This administration’s attacks on basic science and essential efforts to ensure diversity in STEM will weaken our economy and our national security. Putting politics over science will only set our country back,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

BREAKFAST BROWSE

Did hackers discover Victoria’s Secret?
The lingerie company pulled down its website this week after experiencing a prolonged “security incident.”

The giants don’t need your money
A new campaign is encouraging visitors to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland to stop wedging coins between the stones.

What was on the megalodon’s menu?
The prehistoric predator was widely thought to subsist on large marine mammals, but a new study of fossilized teeth has found more variety in its diet.

A mystery of cosmic proportions
Astronomers are trying to determine what kind of celestial object is emitting bright flashes of radio waves and X-rays that last for two minutes and repeat every 44 minutes.

It would be a sin to miss this
Residents of the theater-less Mississippi town that inspired “Sinners” will finally get to see the film.

TODAY’S NUMBER

7 million
That’s how many potential jobs the UN is predicting will vanish this year because of an economic slowdown triggered by President Trump’s trade war.

TODAY’S QUOTE

“When I first heard the news, I wanted to curse Trump.”

— Candy, a Chinese statistics student at the University of Michigan, who did not want to give her full name, after learning about the US decision to “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students.”

TODAY’S WEATHER

Check your local forecast here>>>

AND FINALLY …

Um, we have a ‘wildlife situation’
Watch what happened when two pigeons apparently tried to stow away on a Delta Air Lines flight to Madison, Wisconsin.

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