5/19 to 5/25, 2025

Saturday, May 24th, 2025. Fortnite’s comeback, a courtroom showdown over international students, and tariffs rattling markets. So let’s unpack that chaos.

If you’re new here, I’m Robyn Davies, and this is This Week, Basically. is the roundup—just the biggest stories of the week, in under 10 minutes.

Let’s get into it.

Tensions are high between Harvard and the Trump administration over international students—and this week, a federal judge stepped in. On Thursday, a judge in Boston temporarily blocked the administration’s attempt to bar Harvard from enrolling foreign students, calling the move “unconstitutional” and likely to cause immediate and irreparable injury.
Here’s what happened: just 24 hours earlier, the Department of Homeland Security moved to block Harvard from admitting international students, claiming the university had failed to turn over records related to alleged misconduct. That included five years’ worth of data on protest activity, disciplinary actions, and even video footage.

Harvard sued almost immediately, arguing the demands were politically motivated and legally unfounded. DHS hit back, saying the lawsuit is trying to, quote, “kneecap the president’s constitutionally vested powers,” and reminding everyone that admitting international students is a privilege, not a right. For now, Harvard can continue admitting international students—but this legal fight is far from over.

President Trump also made waves this week with a pair of aggressive trade threats aimed at both Europe and Apple. On Tuesday, he announced a 50% tariff on all EU imports starting June 1st, claiming that trade talks with the bloc are, quote, “going nowhere.” That wasn’t all. He also floated a 25% tariff on iPhones made outside the U.S.—a clear message to Apple to shift production away from China and India. The markets didn’t take it well. Apple shares slid 4%, and the Euro Stoxx 600 index dropped nearly 2%—a sign that investors are nervous about what this could mean for global supply chains. And while these tariffs aren’t in effect just yet, the announcement alone is already reshaping the conversation around trade, tech, and where your phone actually comes from.

After nearly five years in exile, Fortnite is officially back on the U.S. App Store. Apple restored the wildly popular game on Tuesday after a long—and very public—antitrust battle with its developer, Epic Games. The two have been in a legal standoff since 2020, when Epic tried to bypass Apple’s 30% commission on in-app purchases, and Apple responded by kicking Fortnite off the platform entirely. But a recent federal ruling changed the game. Last month, a California judge decided that Apple can’t block apps just because they link to outside payment options. And on Monday, the Court told Apple to either reinstate Fortnite or come back to court with a better excuse. Since its return, Fortnite has rocketed to the top of the charts. It’s been the most downloaded app on the U.S. App Store every day this week, easily passing ChatGPT, WhatsApp, and Block Blast. Turns out, people were ready to drop in again.

Russia and Ukraine carried out their largest prisoner exchange of the war on Friday, with each side releasing 390 soldiers and civilians. Both governments confirmed the swap, which was just the beginning—more exchanges were expected over the weekend, with a total of 1,000 prisoners set to be returned by each country. The agreement came out of negotiations in Istanbul last week, marking the first time the two sides have sat down for direct talks since the early months of the war. It’s a rare moment of cooperation in a conflict that’s remained brutally deadlocked—and while it doesn’t signal peace, it does signal movement.

In other news, Morgan Wallen’s newest album entitled I’m the Problem dropped last Friday. The album has a lot to live up to, considering Wallen’s last album, “One Thing at a Time” which he dropped in 2023, which spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album is 37 songs and just under 2 hours long, with collabs including Tate McRae, Post Malone, and Eric Church. In content, the album is all the same solid, classic country fans will be expecting: whiskey, women, trucks, and God. But it also comes with some more sentimental pieces: track 3, Superman, is an ode to his young son, in which Wallen admits his own imperfections and promises to always do the best for his kids.

Vogue dropped its summer issue on Tuesday, with Hailey Bieber front and center as the solo cover star. It’s her first time landing the cover alone—though she and Justin appeared together back in 2019. But instead of letting her moment shine, Justin’s Instagram tribute stirred up backlash. In his caption, he reminisced about a past fight where he told Hailey she’d “never be on the cover of Vogue,” before adding, “clearly I was sadly mistaken.” While it may have been meant as a cute apology, the internet didn’t love it. Many felt it undercut her achievement—framing it more as a moment of redemption for him than success for her. By Tuesday afternoon, the caption was gone, replaced with a string of emojis that seemed to say, “still sorry.” The internet isn’t pleased.

The Cannes Film Festival returned this week, along with its famously dramatic red carpet—and a couple of new rules. Organizers updated the dress code for nightly gala screenings, banning two things: visible nudity and voluminous gowns. The first rule feels like a direct response to Bella Hadid’s sheer moment at last year’s festival. As for the second? Let’s just say it didn’t exactly stick. Stars like Jameela Jamil, Jennifer Lawrence, and Amal Clooney were all spotted in dresses with sweeping trains anyway—so maybe “voluminous” is more of a suggestion than a hard no. Now, onto the looks. Runner-up honors go to Georgina Chapman at The History of Sound and Nadine Abdel Aziz at Highest 2 Lowest. But the best-dressed title, in my humble opinion, goes to Elsa Hosk—also at The History of Sound—in a black Mugler bodycon gown that paid tribute to ‘90s supermodel Claudia Schiffer. We’re talking the same sheer optical illusion dress, velvet reversible coat, layered pearls, and even a blush flower pinned in her hair. In short: gorgeous, informed, and classy as all get out.

And that’s this week, basically. Harvard v. Trump administration on international students, Russia-Ukraine prisoner swap, new Morgan Wallen album and the Cannes red carpet. You crushed it. Now go touch grass. Or at least pretend you read a headline. See you back next week and Until then, I’m Robyn Davies. This is This Week, Basically.