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Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

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Raunchy comedy I Want Your Sex starring Olivia Wilde as an artsy dominatrix and Cooper Hoffman as her muse is spinning some R-rated counter programming to Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The Gregg Araki film from Magnolia Pictures, which world premiered at Sundance (see Deadline review), hits about 700 theaters. It’s Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh at […]

Source: Deadline.

Donald Trump insists Israel is “very happy” with a proposal for the Palestinian group to give up weapons in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal.

Source: BBC.

From The Hill

Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over wagers he placed on the State of the Union earlier this year on Kalshi, the agency announced Friday. Santos placed bets on whether he would attend President Trump’s address in February, while also posting on…

John Oliver is sticking with HBO’s Last Week Tonight for at least another year. Oliver has signed a 12-month deal with the cable network, keeping Last Week Tonight on air until the end of 2027. His previous deal was up this year. The interesting element is that it’s only a one-year deal, given that the […]

Source: Deadline.

Fruity fragrances are more unique than you think. Crisp, tart, sweet, moody, or bright—there’s an option for everyone. We included picks from Parfums de Marly, Dior, Liis, Guerlain and more.

Source: Vogue

Donald Trump’s war on education, and intelligence in general, is ramping up with a xenophobic edge.

The president — who has said he loves “the poorly educated” — has launched a crusade on American universities in an effort to bring them under his control.

In his second term, Trump’s anti-intellectual campaign has intersected with his anti-immigrant agenda. A prime example of this came last year, when his administration suspended and canceled research grants and sought to revoke some student visas — which has led to a so-called brain drain from scientific fields.

And on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration is considering a $100,000 fee for foreign students looking to work in the U.S. after graduation. According to the Journal:

The Trump administration is considering attaching a $100,000 price tag on international students’ ability to work in the U.S. after they graduate from an American university, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would make it much less attractive for foreigners to study in the U.S.

If enacted, the fee would significantly advance President Trump’s efforts to restrict nearly all forms of legal immigration. It would particularly harm universities, which rely on recruiting international students as a reliable source of revenue, as well as top Silicon Valley and Wall Street firms, which disproportionately hire international college graduates to fill technical roles.

A DHS spokeswoman told the Journal: “No policies should be considered final until formally announced. At DHS we are always having conversations about how to use all tools in our arsenal to protect the integrity of our legal immigration system.”

To be clear, I’ve seen nothing that suggests this proposal would make it easier for Americans to attend college. What seems more likely here is that many international students — who throughout history have played crucial roles in all sorts of academic research and discoveries — will either forgo bringing their talents to the U.S., or come here and then go elsewhere after receiving an American education.

In either scenario, the U.S. would largely miss out on top talent whose expertise could bring critical, if not life-altering, improvements to society — all because of the MAGA movement’s bigoted obsession with demonizing immigrants.

And when you pair this proposal with the Trump administration’s efforts to politicize research grants, which experts have warned could be disastrous for American science, the risk of national stupefaction — that is, a nation being made dumber by its illiberal and incompetent leader — seems clear. And dire.

The post Possible $100,000 fee for foreign graduates is as stupid as it is xenophobic appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.

From The Hill

The Trump administration on Friday appealed a ruling from a federal judge in Florida who found the president effectively colluded with his own government in bringing a $10 billion suit against the Internal Revenue Service. That suit, which the Justice Department pointed to as the basis for creating its $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund, was highly…

Luigi Mangione is not happy with prosecutors in his state trial … he says they’re doing too much to limit the number of people in court … and he wants the proceedings broadcast live on air. Luigi’s lawyers sent a letter to Judge Carro on Friday…

From TMZ.

Utah beauty queen Brynn Carnesecca died by suicide just weeks before she was due at her next pageant … and it’s a shock to those who knew her, because we’re told she was seemingly doing well in therapy. A close friend of Brynn tells TMZ … she…

From TMZ.

Day 2 Highlights from Royal Lytham. Who’s on course to take Miyu Yamashita’s title?

Source: BBC.

A climate scientist says Earth is “passing the limits of adaptation” when it comes to withstanding the effects of climate change.

Source: NPR.