Friday's Mini-Report, 5.30.25
Today's edition of quick hits.
* SCOTUS news: 'The Supreme Court has granted the Trump administration's bid for permission to revoke temporary legal protections for more than 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela pending further litigation, in a decision that a two-justice dissent said creates devastating consequences.'
* Good for the CDC: 'Days after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that Covid shots would be removed from the federal immunization schedule for children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated advice that largely counters Mr. Kennedy's new policy.'
* Putting aside the question of why this is a presidential priority, there's also the question of whether Trump has the authority to fire the National Portrait Gallery director: 'President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet. ... It is unclear if the president has authority to dismiss Sajet. The Smithsonian's programming is not under the purview of the executive branch.'
* On the heels of NPR's related lawsuit: 'PBS sued President Trump on Friday to block an executive order that would cut federal funding for public television and radio, arguing that it was unconstitutional.'
* One of the problems with this story is that Trump's statement included a great many elements, many of which were outrageously untrue: 'President Donald Trump said Friday that he will no longer be 'Mr. NICE GUY' with China on trade, declaring in a social media post that the country had broken an agreement with the United States.'
* Quite a shakeup at ICE: 'Several Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders are leaving their roles, the agency announced on Thursday, in the third major change among its leadership in recent months. ... The Trump administration has struggled to meet President Trump's campaign promises of mass deportations, grappling with a lack of extensive resources despite efforts to bring in personnel from other parts of the federal law enforcement system.'
* Direct lobbying campaigns like these remain highly unusual and inappropriate: 'President Trump revived his criticism of the Federal Reserve in a private meeting with its chair, Jerome H. Powell, on Thursday, saying it was a mistake not to lower interest rates. The meeting, which was organized at Mr. Trump's request, is the first since the president returned to the White House.'
* Trump could comment on a story like this one, but at least so far, he hasn't: 'The United States and 10 allies on Thursday said the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea flagrantly violates U.N. sanctions and has helped Moscow increase its missile strikes on Ukrainian cities.'
Have a safe weekend.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
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Suddenly the scene freezes and, with fervour and anguish written on her face, his mother turns to us – witnesses to the dark chapters of the past century – to start telling the story: seven decades in the life of one uprooted family, beginning in 1948, when Zionist paramilitary organizations expelled more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs from their homes. But this epic chronicle about a family's struggle to remain together and preserve its dignity in the face of more powerful forces neither judges nor lays blame. In sharing the Palestinian experience with wisdom and in an unusually captivating manner, it touches the heart all the more intensely. 'Karavan' (Caravan)Director: Zuzana KirchnerováCzech Republic, Slovak Republic, Italy, 2025, 102 minEster, 45, has devoted her life to caring for her son David, who has an intellectual disability. A trip to Italy to stay with friends brings an opportunity to escape her soul-destroying routine, yet not even a change of scene can alter the fact that life with David isn't easy. Ester impulsively fires up the old caravan that was intended as their holiday home and it becomes a means to find freedom. The journey through sun-drenched Italy proves therapeutic for both of them. Perhaps only briefly, deep inside, Ester will rediscover someone who has a right not only to give love, but also to receive it. This personal road movie, which saw Czech feature film return to Cannes after an absence of more than 30 years, shows fondness and unsparing openness as it explores themes of body and soul, freedom and resignation, and hope and powerlessness. 'Letní škola, 2001' (Summer School, 2001)Director: Dužan DuongCzech Republic, Slovak Republic, 2025, 102 min, World premiereThe first ever Czech Viet feature is an authentic portrayal of a community that has become an organic part of modern Czech history, directed by Dužan Duong, a standout, exceptionally talented representative of the first Vietnamese generation to grow up in the Czech Republic. The third millennium has hardly begun and 17-year-old Kien with his crazy red hair returns to his family and their market stall in Cheb after 10 years spent in Vietnam. However, instead of the warm welcome he had anticipated, he finds an estranged father, a careworn mother and a younger brother who doesn't cut him any slack. Told with lightness and wit, this story about cross-generational conflict and much else besides is an affectionate and bold milestone in the debate on cultural identity. 'Projekt český film' (The Czech Film Project)Director: Marek Novák, Mikuláš NovotnýCzech Republic, 2025, 83 min, World premiereAt the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, Wim Wenders invited several of his esteemed colleagues to a hotel room, where he filmed their reflections on the future of film. This exclusive documentary survey, 'Room 666,' inspired two Czech producers to engage in a similar undertaking in collaboration with the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. During last year's festival, they thus invited around 30 Czech or Czech-based filmmakers from all generations and asked them 'what makes Czech film Czech?' The result is an exciting mosaic not just of views and opinions, but also of mannerisms and personalities. 'A Second Life'Director: Laurent SlamaFrance, 2024, 74 min, European premiereAs Paris pulsates with excitement on the opening day of the Olympic Games, Elisabeth moves around the city with an equal air of anticipation. She works for an Airbnb broker, and the sheer number of arrivals makes this a critical day for her. Elisabeth is tired not just of constantly running between clients, but also from the pressures she faces from her employer. A surprising sense of calm comes when she meets a man named Elijah. 'A Second Life' is an ode to friendship, an urban fairy tale, and an almost documentary portrait of a city in the grips of a massive sporting event. The fragile authenticity of the main protagonists' experiences is further amplified by an intense soundtrack that practically lets us touch the world of Elisabeth, who must deal not only with work-related difficulties but also with her hearing impairment. 'Tehran, Kenarat' (Tehran Another View)Director: Ali BehradIran, U.K., 2025, 92 min, European premiereThe moment they greet each other at their friends' wedding, we know that Leili and Pasha were once a couple. But something split them apart. We see their story in flashback. The start of their romance was literally explosive, and it looked as if Pasha wouldn't survive. But their mutual attraction would not be deterred by his burns and his slight concussion, and the couple slowly moved from an initial infatuation to a more serious phase in their relationship, when it was time to make more difficult decisions than where to go for dinner. And thus came the moment of separation… A charming mix of genres, Iranian director Ali Behrad's second feature film is a vibrant portrait of Tehran and its inhabitants, who lose none of their élan even in the face of a difficult political situation. The juries of the 59th edition Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival are:CRYSTAL GLOBE JURYNicolás CelisMexican producer, his films include the Oscar-winning 'Roma' (Alfonso Cuarón). One of Latin America's film industry key figures, he has also produced films by Tatiana Huezo, Amat Escalante and Jacques JalaliFilmmaker, screenwriter and producer whose second feature 'Radio Dreams' won the Tiger Award at Rotterdam Film Festival in 2016. With 'Fremont' he won best director at KVIFF 2023 and the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit KiangFilm critic, essayist and programmer with bylines in Variety, Sight & Sound, Criterion, Mubi, the New York Times, the LA Times, the Washington Post, Film Comment and Rolling Stone, among other outlets. She is now a member of the selection committee of the MádlOne of the Czech Republic's most popular actors, now also established as a writer and director. His third directorial effort Waves won the audience award at KVIFF 2024 and was shortlisted for the Academy Award for best international feature NovotnyOne of the most prominent and successful actors in the Nordics today. She has worked with such filmmakers as Lars von Trier, Bent Hamer, Alex Garland and Tobias Lindholm. Her writing/directing debut premiered in San Sebastian's official selection. PROXIMA JURYYulia Evina BharaIndonesian producer. Her films regularly appear on the programs of important festivals such as Cannes ('Tiger Stripes' and 'Renoir'), Venice ('Autobiography') and San Sebastian ('Last Shadow at First Light').Noaz DesheRomanian filmmaker living in Mexico. His first feature film 'White Shadow' won best debut at Venice in 2013. Last year KVIFF screened his 'Xoftex' in the Crystal Globe Competition, where the film earned him a special jury Carlos De Los Santos AriasDominican filmmaker. His debut 'Cocote' won the Golden Leopard in the Signs of Life program at Locarno, while his latest film, 'Pepe,' was selected for last year's Berlinale competition, where it won a Silver Bear for best FelcmanCzech screenwriter, festival organizer, film journalist, creative producer, director, trained plumber. He worked as a script editor on films by Jan Němec, Petr Václav, Radu Jude and Corneliu FrobesAn agent in the media finance department at leading entertainment and sports agency CAA, specializing in packaging and sales of independently financed films. She supported packaging or sales of projects including 'The Brutalist' and 'Rebuilding' (Crystal Globe Competition at this year's KVIFF), among many others. Best of Variety What's Coming to Netflix in June 2025 New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
