• TARIFFS GREEN-LIGHTED: “President Trump on Friday defended his decision to impose steep tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports and promised much steeper penalties would follow, putting the rest of the world on notice that he will follow through on his protectionist agenda no matter the blowback.” (The Washington Post)

• APPEALS COURT METAMORPHOSIS: “The Senate confirmed Michael Park to be a judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, making him the 39th circuit court judge to be confirmed under President Trump in a process on a record pace that is steadily reshaping the bench. … With two more vacancies by this summer as judges take senior status, Mr. Trump will soon have a chance to flip control of the circuit, which currently has seven Democratic appointees. Mr. Trump flipped the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year.” (The Washington Times)

• PENTAGON GETS A NOMINEE: “President Trump is nominating Patrick Shanahan to be his second secretary of Defense, a position the former Boeing executive has held on an interim basis since December. … Shanahan, who has less than two years of government experience, took over as the top Defense Department official after James Mattis resigned late last year.” (The Hill)

• NOKO SHIP SEIZED: “U.S. authorities have seized a North Korean ship that was transporting coal in violation of international sanctions, the Department of Justice announced Thursday. The North Korean ship, the Wise Honest, is the first seized by U.S. authorities over sanctions violations. It is now approaching U.S. territorial waters accompanied by the U.S. Marshals and Coast Guard.” (National Review)

• STUDENTS REBUFF ANTI-GUN ACTIVISTS: “Gun rights advocates posted support on social media Thursday for students who walked out of a gun-control rally in anger and tears over concerns the event inappropriately politicized their grief. … After about 30 minutes, hundreds of students from the STEM School stormed out yelling ‘this is not for us,’ ‘political stunt’ and ‘we are people, not a statement.’” (USA Today)

• FLORIDA SANCTIONS SELF-DEFENSE: “Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Wednesday that’ll let more Florida teachers carry guns in school, the latest response to last year’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.” (Fox News)

• ILLEGALS GIVEN FREE REIGN: “ICE has already released 168,000 illegal immigrant family members into the U.S. this fiscal year, and the number is likely to surge as the border situation deteriorates, a top deportation official told Congress on Wednesday. According to the results of a pilot program, a staggering 87% of released families are skipping their court hearings.” (The Washington Times)

• CHICK-FIL-A PERSEVERES: According to Campus Reform, “The student government at a Texas Christian college passed a resolution to remove Chick-fil-A food from the campus dining hall because of the restaurant’s stances on LGBT issues.” Yet The Wall Street Journal reports that the “company this year is poised to become the third-biggest U.S. restaurant chain by sales.”

• HUMOR: Attorney General William Barr becomes 257-millionth American to hold Congress in contempt (The Daily Wire)

• POLICY: China’s not-so-secret weapon against America: capitalism (Issues & Insights)

• POLICY: End hospitals’ right to a blank check for emergency care (E21)

For more of today’s editors’ choice headlines, visit In Our Sights.

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