America in Brief

Kennedy seeks solution for measles outbreak; Trump threatens tariffs on foreign-made movies; and U.S. offers self deport cash incentive to illegal immigrants.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Washington on April 18, 2025. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Kennedy Works to Treat Measles Outbreak

The United States’ top health official, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is directing officials to find treatments for a measles outbreak that emerged in Texas earlier in the year.

There have been a total of 935 cases across the country so far this year, resulting in three confirmed deaths and a 13 percent hospitalisation rate.

Measles was confirmed eliminated in the United States in 2000 by the World Health Organisation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through vaccination, but the recent outbreak could threaten this status if it continues into 2026.

The Hollywood sign in Los Angeles on Sept. 17, 2024. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Trump Threatens 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Movies

President Donald Trump threatened a 100 percent tariff on all foreign-made movies on May 4 in an attempt to revive Hollywood.

After receiving international backlash Trump then appeared to back down and by May 6, the proposal appeared to have fizzled out.

Earlier this year, Trump appointed stars Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone as special envoys to Hollywood to serve as his “eyes and ears” to advise him on ways to restore it to its former glory.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak during a tour in Kodiak, Alaska, on March 17, 2025. Alex Brandon/AP Photo

US Announces $1,000 Payoff to Illegal Immigrants

The United States immigration authorities are offering $1,000 incentives to illegal immigrants who self-deport.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in a statement that occupants would “receive both financial and travel assistance to facilitate travel back to their home country” through the use of an app called CBP Home App. 

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in the statement, “If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest.”

Students are evacuated from the Butler Library as a pro-Palestinian protest takes place at Butler Library on the campus of Columbia University in New York on May 7, 2025. Ryan Murphy/Reuters

Students Arrested in Biggest Staged Protests in a Year

Dozens of students at New York’s Columbia University were arrested on May 7 for staging the biggest protests since last year’s series of demonstrations against Israel’s reaction to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack.

Students stormed the university’s public library armed with drums and megaphones shouting slogans and refusing to leave until they were dragged away by New York City police officers.

The students were later released uncharged.

The U.S. government has been clamping down on student protests recently, revoking the visas of those deemed connected to last year’s protests.