A court limited the Trump administration on deportation. A federal judge said Thursday the United States can no longer deport migrants under the Alien Enemies Act. Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. wrote that the government’s actions “excee[d] the scope” of the 1798 law. No federal court had yet weighed in on the question. The president invoked the act in March to remove alleged members of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang.

The Supreme Court allowed for such deportations provided the government applies due process, and halted some removals in April when it appeared the administration wasn’t doing so. Thursday’s ruling is limited to the Southern District of Texas. Similar cases are being litigated in courts around the country. – Staff

Reports of sexual assault declined in the U.S. military. They are down 4% in the past fiscal year, marking the second year of overall improvement in numbers for a crime the Pentagon has long struggled to address. While the Army saw a 13% decrease in such reports, three other services saw a rise, including by 4 percent in the Navy. “The warfighter ethos values respect for one’s comrades in arms,” Nathan Galbreath, director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office said Thursday. “Sexual assault and sexual harassment are antithetical to that ethos.” – Staff

Israeli crews continued to battle a major wildfire. They spent back-to-back Memorial Day and Independence Day fighting what were called the worst wildfires in the country’s history. High winds and hot, dry weather helped drive the fires, centered in the heavily forested Jerusalem hills. Smoke covered the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, forcing some drivers to flee on foot as local residents were evacuated. A ceremony marking Israel’s 77th Independence Day was canceled, and backup firefighting assistance arrived from Italy, Croatia, and North Macedonia. – Staff

A presidential commission on religious liberty was established. President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the commission, to be chaired by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, at a White House Rose Garden event marking the National Day of Prayer. Last week, the Department of Justice launched a task force to “eradicate” anti-Christian bias. – Staff

Caste will be counted in India’s next census. This is far more than a new bureaucratic procedure within the world’s largest census. It’s the culmination of a societal debate about whether numerating caste, a strict stratification of Indian social class that dates back thousands of years and has been outlawed since 1950, is moral. The decennial survey, which has been delayed since 2021, will divide those who believe categorizing class will allow discrimination of an archaic system to persist and those who see it as a pathway from persistent prejudice. – Staff

President Donald Trump’s first major shake-up of top administration officials in his second term signaled his interest in honoring loyalty, even as he removed an embattled official from a key national security position. 

Weekly protests in Israel over the war in Gaza have focused mainly on returning hostages held by militants since the Hamas-led attack on Israel 19 months ago. Those demonstrations are now measuring rising empathy among Israelis for the war’s toll on Palestinian children, too. Solemn Memorial Day ceremonies on Tuesday included reflection on the losses both sides have endured during the conflict. 

President Donald Trump has delivered a series of blows to an international order that America largely built and led in the decades after World War II. Its influence ranged from trade to defense to economic development to – more often than not – the promotion of democracy and human rights. In place of the American “exceptionalism” long embraced by presidents of both parties, Mr. Trump has positioned the United States as a lone wolf: still the world’s wealthiest and most powerful country, but shedding commitments and relationships that don’t directly serve its own political and economic interests. Different constituencies, predictably, have had very different responses.

Recovery after a natural disaster often involves a long, complex process. For the thousands displaced by the California wildfires in January, quick disaster agency responses and help from local officials have helped speed that work. For one Altadena resident, excited about the new home she’s having built, it helps to have an attitude of “Yes, we can.” She adds, “Life is all about change.”

A new statue in Columbia, South Carolina, honors Dawn Staley, who has earned renown as University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach. The honor also recognizes her ongoing fight for equality. Ms. Staley was humble at the unveiling, writes our commentator. The coach initially thought a statue of Las Vegas Aces superstar and former Gamecock A’ja Wilson a few blocks away was enough. She changed her mind after learning the mission of Statues for Equality, the group that partnered with the city on the project. It seeks to balance gender and racial representation in statuary, and has installed tributes to Harriet Tubman and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Why did Cassandra Austen burn her celebrated sister’s letters? That mystery lies at the core of the new “Miss Austen,” a four-part “Masterpiece” series that debuts Sunday on PBS. Those who have the film and TV adaptations of Jane Austen’s books memorized are in for something much different in tone here. But the Cassandra mystery is worth an exploration: It’s one with emotional depths that seem appropriate to explore during 2025, the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. Events celebrating the author are scheduled throughout the year, particularly in her native England.

This summer, travelers to Europe may run into very different receptions from locals. Some will be like honey. Others may resemble vinegar.

The vinegar reception will be reflected in antitourist protests planned for June 15 in cities across southern Europe, such as Venice, Italy. The goal of the activists: limit the impact of visitors on traffic, noise, pollution, and housing, and, most of all, assaults by “bad tourists” on local values and traditions.

This hostility to large-scale hospitality was seen last summer when activists in Barcelona, Spain, used water guns on tourists to shoo them away. The city also hid a bus route on Google Maps. Leaders of the coming protests want governments to do more than the steps already taken in a few places. These include imposing limits on the number and size of cruise ships, taxes on tourists, and curbs on Airbnb-style rentals.

In sharp contrast, the honey approach sees tourists not as pests but as partners in enhancing local culture and habits. Rather than being told what not to do, travelers are invited, with incentives, to act with respect, kindness, and gratitude.

A leading example is a program launched last summer in Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen. In the program, dubbed CopenPay, tourists who pick up trash, volunteer at urban gardens, or cycle to museums rather than take a car are given rewards. Their “green deeds” and local participation bring them ice cream, kayak rentals, or guided museum tours. The program was based on a survey showing 82% of people want to act sustainably but only 22% actually do.

“Rewarding positive behaviour rather than moaning about bad tourists is the way to bring about real change,” Rachel Dodds, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who studies overtourism, told The Telegraph.

Last month, Denmark was designated as “the most responsible tourist destination” in 2025. The global ranking, called the Good Trip Index, was conducted by the travel company Holiday Extras to assist the increasing number of travelers whose bucket list of locations is based on ethical considerations, such as environmental sustainability.

Copenhagen’s attempt to change the narrative on tourists – to bring out their sensitivity to local interests – has begun to gain global attention. Perhaps it will draw even more attention than squirting tourists with water pistols.