☕ The travel ban, explained.

Good morning!

The NBA Finals tip off tonight, with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder meeting for Game 1 in the best-of-seven series.

A quick bit of history, and a few facts for the water cooler: the Pacers have never won an NBA championship, and this is their second opportunity after losing to the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals. If the Pacers do win, they will become the first fourth-seeded team in the current playoff format to do so. The 1995 Houston Rockets, who were the Western Conference sixth seed, are the only team seeded outside of the top three since 1987 to win the Finals.

The Thunder franchise last won an NBA championship as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979. The franchise then relocated to Oklahoma City as the Thunder in 2008 and has made one finals appearance since, losing to the Miami Heat in the 2012 series.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

President Trump has suspended entry to the U.S. for all new foreign students admitted to Harvard University, citing national security concerns. The six-month order, which could be extended, also directs officials to consider revoking existing student visas. In announcing the order, Trump claimed Harvard had developed "extensive relationships with foreign countries" and was "flouting the civil rights of its students and faculty." Harvard called the move "yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard's First Amendment rights".

The U.S. has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in Gaza, arguing it would undermine ongoing negotiation efforts. The resolution, which also called for the release of all hostages, received support from all other Security Council members. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea said America could not "support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza." Shea also noted the UN does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Plane manufacturer Boeing has agreed to pay a $1.1 billion settlement to avoid legal action over two fatal crashes. The 2018 and 2019 crashes claimed a combined total of 346 lives. The settlement means Boeing will pay $444.5m to the crash victims’ families, and avoid further prosecution led by the Justice Department. The manufacturer has agreed to pay an additional $444.5m to improve safety standards. However, the deal has been criticised as “morally repugnant” by lawyers representing the families of 16 crash victims, who’ve told the BBC the agreement gives Boeing the green light to "sidestep true criminal accountability".

Eleven people have died in a stampede during celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's first IPL championship victory in India. More than 100,000 fans had gathered near the cricket team's stadium for a victory parade announced by officials. The sudden announcement triggered a mass rush that led to the deadly stampede. Two children are reportedly among those killed. Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, with initial reports citing poor crowd management and the hasty planning of the gathering as contributing factors.

I’ve got 1 minute

President Trump has ordered an investigation into former President Biden's use of an autopen during his time in office, claiming Biden lacked the cognitive ability to perform presidential duties.

The order follows allegations in a new book that key White House aides concealed Biden's cognitive decline.

What happened?

Trump signed an executive order launching two investigations:

1. Whether Biden administration officials "conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state" and unconstitutionally exercised presidential powers

2. The circumstances surrounding Biden's use of an autopen to sign executive orders and pardons

The autopen is a machine that replicates signatures, commonly used by politicians to sign large volumes of documents.

What’s the controversy?

Trump previously claimed some of Biden's late-presidency pardons were invalid because they were signed by autopen.

Constitutional law experts have disputed this claim.

The new order alleges presidential signature powers were "abused through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline."

The book allegations

A book titled "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again" was released last month.

It alleges White House aides covered up Biden's cognitive issues.

The Biden family has dismissed the allegations as false. In a statement, Biden said: "Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency. I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation and proclamations."

I’ve got 2 minutes

The U.S. has banned residents from 12 countries from entering the country, echoing a similar set of restrictions imposed during President Donald Trump’s first term in 2017.

Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, and Somalia are among the countries targeted by the travel ban, which will come into effect on Monday.

A further seven countries have partial bans, including Cuba, Venezuela and Laos.

In a statement, Trump said: “As President, I must act to protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people.

Last Travel Ban

One of Trump’s first executive orders after being sworn in as President in January 2017 was to impose a travel ban on seven countries with majority Muslim populations.

The ban meant the U.S. State Department would not issue visas to people from a particular country.

At the time, the ban faced a series of legal challenges but was largely upheld.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden revoked Trump’s travel ban shortly after taking office in 2021.

New Ban

Earlier today, Donald Trump signed a proclamation to impose a travel ban on 12 countries, beginning on Monday. These countries include:

• Middle East and Asia: Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, and Yemen.

• Africa: Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.

A further seven countries will have extra restrictions imposed on residents wanting to enter the U.S.

These include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Visitors from these countries won’t be able to get an immigrant visa.

Officials will only be able to permit a reduced number of other types of visas, such as a tourist or education visa holders.

Why?

Trump’s order stated there had been inadequate “screening and vetting” of those trying to enter the U.S. from the dozen countries where the ban applies.

It also claimed some foreign nationals were “overstaying their visas”.

The White House listed some exceptions to the ban, including returning U.S. citizens, athletes competing in the World Cup or Olympics, and some visas for those facing religious persecution in Iran.

In a video statement, Trump said: “The recent terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, has underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country”.

A 45-year-old man was arrested after throwing a handmade flamethrower into a crowd of people who had gathered to call for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in Gaza. Eight people were injured in the attack.

Federal authorities later said the alleged attacker was an Egyptian national who had been in the U.S. unlawfully since 2022.

Response

Some Democrats have already criticised Trump’s ban, including House of Representatives member from the state of Washington, Pramila Jayapal, who said the move would “further isolate us on the world stage”.

“This discriminatory policy, which limits legal immigration... will be harmful to our economy and our communities,” she said in a post on social media.

Another Democrat, Judy Chu, said: “This goes against our core American values while doing nothing to make us safer.”

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