Judge orders detained Tufts PhD student be transferred from Louisiana to Vermont ahead of bail hearing. See a recap.

By the New York Times

Harvard University received an emailed letter from the Trump administration last Friday that included a series of demands about hiring, admissions and curriculum so onerous that school officials decided they had no choice but to take on the White House.

The university announced its intentions Monday, setting off a tectonic battle between one of the country’s most prestigious universities and a U.S. president. Then, almost immediately, came a frantic call from a Trump official.

The April 11 letter from the White House’s task force on antisemitism, this official told Harvard, should not have been sent and was “unauthorized,” two people familiar with the matter told the New York Times.

It is unclear what prompted the letter to be sent last Friday. Its content was authentic, the three people said, but there were differing accounts inside the administration of how it had been mishandled. Some people at the White House believed it had been sent prematurely, according to the three people, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions. Others in the administration thought it had been meant to be circulated among the task force members rather than sent to Harvard.

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By Nick Stoico, Globe Staff

Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union and a New Hampshire law firm filed a class-action lawsuit Friday challenging the Trump administration’s move to revoke student visas for college students in four New England states and Puerto Rico.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in New Hampshire seeks to represent more than 100 college students in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico who have seen their F-1 student immigration status terminated in recent weeks, the ACLU said in a statement.

The complaint comes as the Trump administration has has so far terminated the legal status of nearly 5,000 international students across the country, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

“International students are a vital community in our state’s universities, and no administration should be allowed to circumvent the law to unilaterally strip students of status, disrupt their studies, and put them at risk of deportation,” Gilles Bissonnette, legal director for the ACLU of New Hampshire, said in the statement.

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By Esmy Jimenez, Globe Staff

Monday morning, Marilu Domingo Ortiz and her husband, Juan Francisco Méndez, were on their way to a dentist appointment, blocks from their home, when suddenly, law enforcement in green vests approached their car. Domingo Ortiz turned to her husband, an immigrant from Guatemala who is in the United States seeking asylum protection, with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

The couple sought to remain in their car until their lawyer could be on the scene. But within a half-hour, a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent smashed the rear window with an ax, forcibly removed them from the vehicle, and arrested Méndez.

“I tried being strong in the moment,” said Domingo Ortiz, who with her husband has a 9-year-old son. “But when I thought about my son and what I was going to tell him if he asks about his dad, I started crying.”

A video of the confrontation, which Domingo Ortiz filmed, has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people across the United States, as first reported by the New Bedford Light.

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By the New York Times

Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union raced Friday evening to stop the Trump administration from deporting a new group of Venezuelan migrants accused of being gang members under the expansive powers of a rarely invoked wartime law.

More than 50 Venezuelans were scheduled to be flown out of the country — presumably to El Salvador — from an immigration detention center in Anson, Texas, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. The ACLU in recent days has secured court orders barring similar deportations under the law, the Alien Enemies Act, in places including New York, Denver, and Brownsville, Texas.

The lawyers started with an emergency filing in US District Court in Abilene, Texas, in which they claimed that officers at the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson had started distributing notices to Venezuelan immigrants informing them that they could face deportation as soon as Friday night.

The lawyers then filed an emergency petition to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to step in and issue an immediate pause on any deportations because many of the Venezuelan men had “already been loaded on to buses, presumably headed to the airport.”

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By the Associated Press

Trump heralds tariffs as a way of bringing in revenue, striking back at countries he sees as taking advantage of the U.S. in trade and as a cudgel to push countries to do what he wants.

On April 2 he announced far-reaching new tariffs on nearly all trading partners, only to roll most of them back April 9 after the stock market tanked. Still, he claims that tariffs, taxes on imported goods, are bringing in billions of dollars a day.

CLAIM: The US is earning $2 billion per day from tariffs.

THE FACTS: That’s false. Trump began raising tariffs in February. That month, about $7.247 billion in customs duties were collected, or $258.82 million per day. In March, the most recent monthly figure available, a total of about $8.168 billion in customs duties was collected, or approximately $263.48 million per day. A customs duty is a type of tariff.

By the Associated Press

Centers that closed this week in Washington state due to a lag in federal funding will reopen preschools serving low-income children Monday.

An unexplained delay in funding forced Head Start classrooms serving more than 400 children at Inspire Development Centers in Sunnyside to close Wednesday through Friday, Inspire CEO Jorge Castillo said. More than 70 workers were laid off because the centers could not make payroll.

Castillo said there was no explanation for the disruption, something that had never happened during 42 years of operation. An email arrived Friday from the Department of Health and Human Services saying that funding through the fiscal year ending in November was restored.

Planning for the future remains uncertain, according to Castillo.

The Trump administration has proposed eliminating Head Start, a federally funded early-education program serving more than half a million of the nation’s neediest children. Head Start centers nationwide have received nearly $1 billion less in federal money compared with this time last year.

By Samantha J. Gross, Globe Staff

A federal judge in Vermont ordered Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts PhD student detained by ICE last month and sent to a detention facility in Louisiana, be sent to Vermont by May 1 ahead of a May 9 bail hearing.

In a 74-page ruling filed Friday night, Judge William K. Sessions III wrote that “Öztürk has raised significant constitutional concerns with her arrest and detention which merit full and fair consideration in this forum.”

“Accordingly, the Court denies the government’s request to dismiss the Petition and orders that Ms. Öztürk be transferred to ICE custody within the District of Vermont.”

The move comes in response to a petition by Öztürk’s lawyers Wednesday night asking the judge order her to be sent from Louisiana to Vermont by Friday.

Öztürk’s case was transferred to Vermont on April 4 after a federal judge in Boston decided it was the proper venue, denying the government’s request to dismiss her petition or transfer the case to a more favorable venue in Louisiana.

In the order filed Friday, Sessions wrote that the federal government ignored the order from the federal judge in Boston entirely.

“Ignoring an order, particularly one issued on an emergency basis in response to events that are currently unfolding, is not the approach the Court expects from the government,” he wrote. “The remedy for the government ignoring the March 25, 2025, order is simple. Ms. Ozturk should be returned to the status quo at the time of issuance when she was in custody in the District of Vermont.”

A federal immigration judge in Louisiana denied bond to Öztürk this week after government lawyers contended that Öztürk was both “a flight risk and a danger to the community.”

Öztürk, a Turkish national and Fulbright scholar pursuing a doctorate in child and human development, was arrested while walking on a sidewalk by masked federal immigration agents on March 25, and was brought within a day to a rural Louisiana detention facility, where she has been held since in spite of raising health concerns. Her visa had been revoked days before her arrest, though she hadn’t been notified that was the case.

By the Associated Press

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from enacting a policy that bans the use of “X” marker used by many nonbinary people on passports as well as the changing of gender markers.

In an executive order signed in January, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead of a broader conception of gender. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. The framing is in line with many conservatives’ views but at odds with major medical groups and policies under former President Joe Biden.

US District Judge Julia Kobick, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, sided with the American Civil Liberties Union’s motion for a preliminary injunction, which stays the action while the lawsuit plays out.

“The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,” Kobick wrote. “That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.”

By the Associated Press

A class action lawsuit filed asks a federal court to reinstate the legal status of international students who have been stripped of their visas in a Trump administration crackdown that has left more than a thousand fearful of deportation.

The suit was filed in New Hampshire by several American Civil Liberties Union affiliates.

At schools around the country, students have seen their visas revoked or their legal status terminated, typically with little notice.

At least 1,075 students at 170 colleges, universities and university systems have been affected since late March, according to an Associated Press review of university statements, correspondence with school officials and court records.

By the Associated Press

“The Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to free and open trade and the importance of protecting the national interest,” according to a Downing Street statement following the leaders’ Friday call. “The leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine, Iran and recent action taken against the Houthis in Yemen.”

Trump, according to the White House, told Starmer that he’s looking forward to his state visit to the United Kingdom later this year.

Starmer delivered the invitation from King Charles III during his White House visit in February.

By the Associated Press

Van Hollen said officials relented to letting him meet with Abrego Garcia because “they were feeling the pressure” following his high-profile visit and news conference in the country.

The senator said that he met with Abrego Garcia for about half an hour.

By the Associated Press

Despite what he described as contrived circumstances at the hands of the Bukele government in setting the stage for his meeting with Abrego Garcia, Van Hollen noted that El Salvadoran soldiers acted “professionally in their encounter with me. They had their orders.”

By the Associated Press

“They want to create this appearance that life was just lovely for Kilmar,” Van Hollen said.

By the Associated Press

Van Hollen says El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele is aiming to “deceive” people about what happened during his meeting with Abrego Garcia by posting a photo with drinks appearing to be alcohol.

When he and Abrego Garcia first sat down, Van Hollen says they had water and maybe coffee.

Van Hollen says that “one of the government people” present during their meeting deposited other beverages on the table, “with salt or sugar around the top, but they look like margaritas.”

Van Hollen said neither he nor Abrego Garcia drank from the glasses, which in the photo Bukele posted were garnished with maraschino cherries.

By the Associated Press

Van Hollen read from the court ruling ordering the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., then paraphrasing the argument: “In other words, put up in court, or shut up.”

Van Hollen also called the El Salvadoran government “complicit” in keeping Abrego Garcia from returning to his family.

By the Associated Press

Van Hollen has recounted the chronology of Abrego Garcia’s deportation to El Salvador, saying he told him he was initially taken to Baltimore, then Texas, then put on a plane with “no idea where he was going.”

Upon arriving, Abrego Garcia said he was “traumatized” by being at the CECOT prison but said that “nine days ago” he was moved to a different facility.”

Abrego Garcia’s wife Jennifer wiped away tears as Van Hollen spoke of the man’s comments about wanting to speak with his wife.

By the Associated Press

Van Hollen said that he was initially turned away from the high-security prison where Abrego Garcia had been held, but that he “got word” that he would be allowed to meet with him.

He said Abrego Garcia was brought to the hotel where he had been staying to meet with him.

“He said that thinking of you, members of his family, was what gave him the strength to persevere,” the senator said.

The news conference is taking place at Dulles International Airport, where standard announcements related to travel and security can be heard in the background of his remarks.

By the Associated Press

A news conference following Van Hollen’s return from El Salvador is underway at Dulles Airport.

Emotion filled Van Hollen’s voice as he began by saying “it’s good to be home,” noting that Abrego Garcia’s wife, brother and mother were all standing with him.

“Now we need to end the illegal abduction of Abrego Garcia and bring him home, too,” he said.

Van Hollen then gave remarks he said he had written on the plane ride home. Reading from a U.S. Supreme Court opinion issued this week, Van Hollen argued that the Trump administration “wants to flat out lie about what this case is about.”

“This case is not just about one man,” he said. “It’s about protecting the constitutional rights of everyone who resides in the United States.”

Van Hollen said that all Americans “must be prepared to take risks because of the current risk to the constitution itself.”

By the Associated Press

Trump is preparing to advance another part of the conservative Project 2025 blueprint: to reclassify 50,000 federal employees so they’ll have less civil service protection.

The proposal under what’s known as Schedule F follows an executive order signed at the beginning of his term. It’s expected Friday afternoon, though Trump announced the move before the rule was made official.

“If these government workers refuse to advance the policy interests of the President, or are engaging in corrupt behavior, they should no longer have a job,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “This is common sense, and will allow the federal government to finally be ‘run like a business.’”

By the Associated Press

“I’m almost at a loss for words for how outrageous it is,” White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said of Van Hollen flying to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported there by the Trump administration.

Miller argued that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang. Abrego Garcia’s attorneys deny that he is a gang member.

“That is who the Democrat Party is going to provide aid, solace and comfort to?” Miller asked. “I’m beyond appalled.”

By the Associated Press

For Democrats, the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case is about fundamental American ideals — due process, following court orders, preventing government overreach. For the Trump administration and Republicans, it’s about foreigners and gang threats and danger in American towns and cities.

And that argument is precisely the one that Trump wants to have.

This dichotomy is playing out as Democrats double down on their defense of Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported and imprisoned without communication. They’re framing his case as a threat to individual rights to challenge President Trump’s immigration policies.

The effort comes as the Trump administration pushes back harder, turning this deportation into a test case for his crusade against illegal immigration despite a Supreme Court order saying Abrego Garcia must be returned to the United States.

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By the Associated Press

More than five dozen judges handling lawsuits against the Trump administration are receiving “enhanced online security screening” that typically includes scrubbing their personal information from the internet, two federal judges appointed by Republican presidents wrote on behalf of the judiciary in a letter to congressional appropriators.

Trump, senior aide Stephen Miller and billionaire Elon Musk have railed at judges who’ve blocked parts of Trump’s agenda, threatening impeachment and launching personal attacks. Trump’s call to impeach the judge who temporarily halted deportations using an 18th century wartime law prompted a rare quick response from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

By the Associated Press

The federal appeals court in San Francisco left in place a lower court’s order blocking the Trump administration from ending temporary legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Department of Homeland Security’s request for an emergency stay as they appeal the order.

The court wrote that the government has “not demonstrated that they will suffer irreparable harm absent a stay.”

US District Judge Edward Chen in March found that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had unlawfully reversed protections granted by the Biden administration that allow an estimated 350,000 Venezuelans to live and work in the U.S. Their temporary protections were set to expire earlier this month.

DOJ attorneys for the government contend that Congress gave the secretary clear and broad authority over the TPS program and that the decisions aren’t subject to judicial review.

By the Associated Press

Secretary of State Marco Rubio relayed to NATO the Trump administration’s warning about walking away from peace efforts in Russia’s war on Ukraine if there’s not a deal soon.

The State Department says Rubio spoke to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in a phone call. The State Department quoted Rubio as saying “if a clear path to peace does not emerge soon, the United States will step back from efforts to broker peace.”

By the Associated Press

The covid.gov website shows a photo of Trump walking between the words “lab” and “leak” under a White House heading. It mentions that Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus first began spreading, is home to a research lab with a history of conducting virus research with “inadequate biosafety levels.”

The web page also accuses Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of pushing a “preferred narrative” that COVID-19 originated in nature.

The origins of COVID have never been proven. Scientists are unsure whether the virus jumped from an animal, as many other viruses have, or came from a laboratory accident. A US intelligence analysis released in 2023 said there’s insufficient evidence to prove either theory.

By the Associated Press

The emergency request for a stay, filed by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign late Thursday, says U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg’s order finding probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt pits two government branches against each other and “escalates the constitutional stakes” by infringing on executive branch powers.

Boasberg issued the contempt finding Thursday, accusing administration officials of rushing deportees out of the country under the Alien Enemies Act last month before they could challenge their removal in court, and then willfully disregarding his order that planes already in the air should and traveling to El Salvador return to the United States.

The judge said he could potentially refer the matter for prosecution if the administration doesnt’ remedy the violation. If Justice Department leadership won’t prosecute the matter, Boasberg said, he’ll appoint another attorney to do so.

By the Associated Press

The federal judge has denied a request by The Associated Press that he take further steps to enforce his order last week that the White House stop blocking AP’s access to cover events because the outlet won’t rename the Gulf of Mexico in its reports.

U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who handed the AP a victory last week in its efforts to end the ban, said it’s too soon to say the Trump administration is violating his order — as the AP suggests.

“We are not at the point where we can make much of a determination one way or another,” said McFadden, ruling from the bench.

For two months, the White House has essentially banned AP reporters and photographers from their traditional spot covering events in smaller spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One. The AP says it’s a violation of its free-speech rights to punish a news outlet for an editorial decision — an argument McFadden has endorsed.

By the Associated Press

After days of denying that he knew much about Abrego Garcia, Trump on Friday said he knew Abrego Garcia was “unbelievably bad” and called him an “illegal alien” and “foreign terrorist.”

Trump, while speaking to reporters, had an aide fetch a piece of paper he said had information about Abrego Garcia. He said it came from the State Department and “very legitimate sources.”

“I’m just giving you what they handed to me but this is supposed to be certified stuff,” he said.

He said Abrego Garcia is a member of MS-13, though Abrego Garcia has never been criminally charged in the US with gang involvement. He also highlighted how the man’s wife admitted she once filed a protective order against him despite now advocating for his return.

“This is the man that the Democrats are wanting us to fly back from El Salvador to be a happily ensconced member of the USA family,” Trump said.

By the Associated Press

Trump said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insisted that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war.

The comments from Trump came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier Friday that the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there’s no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.

“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re going to say you’re fools, you’re foolish, and we’re just going to take a pass,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

By the Associated Press

Trump was answering questions about Iran’s nuclear program when reporters were suddenly told it was time to leave.

A young girl and member of Oz’s family had collapsed and appeared to faint in the Oval Office. Oz rushed over. The girl was able to stand but appeared unsteady as she was helped out of the office.

A ceremony had been held in the Oval Office to swear in Oz as head of the agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid, and Trump was answering reporters’ questions on various subjects when the girl fainted.

The White House did not identify her but later said she was doing OK.

By Samantha J. Gross, Globe Staff

Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately release documents surrounding the arrest of Rümeysa Öztürk, the Tufts graduate student who was taken into custody by immigration enforcement agents last month in Somerville and whisked off to a detention facility in Louisiana.

In a letter to Rubio Friday, the Democrats cite reporting from the Washington Post that revealed that days before Öztürk’s arrest, an internal State Department memorandum said the Trump administration lacked “any evidence showing that she engaged in antisemitic activities or made public statements supporting a terrorist organization.”

The Post’s reporting suggests the federal government contradicted the State Department memo when they arrested Öztürk on the grounds that they were carrying out the Trump administration’s pledge to deport students here on a visa who had, in the administration’s view, expressed antisemitic views.

Öztürk had coauthored an op-ed for the Tufts student newspaper criticizing the administration’s response to the pro-Palestinian movement on campus and calling for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel, but her lawyers argued her deportation on those grounds would violate her First Amendment right to free speech. The government hasn’t charged Öztürk with a crime.

The State Department memo, according to the Democrats, has not been made available to the public nor members of Congress.

“Ms. Öztürk’s case demands transparency,” the lawmakers wrote. “The circumstances of her arrest and detention raise serious concerns about civil liberties, academic freedom, and free speech, as well as the Trump administration’s truthfulness. Congress, universities, legal experts, and other members of the public have a strong and compelling interest in the matter.”

By the Associated Press

“I have no specific number of days but quickly. We want to get it done,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

He called the war a “vicious battle” but said he thinks he has a “good chance of solving the problem.”

“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘You’re foolish. You’re fools. You’re horrible people and we’re going to just take a pass,’” he said. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”

He did not offer specifics about what progress he would need to see to keep from dropping the effort to broker a peace deal.

The president was asked if he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling and said, “I hope not.”

By the Associated Press

As head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the 64-year-old former heart surgeon and TV talk-show host will manage health insurance programs for roughly half the country, with oversight of Medicare, Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage.

Dr. Mehmet Oz steps into the role as Congress debates cuts to Medicaid, which aids millions of poor and disabled people.

Trump looked on as Oz was sworn by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a ceremony in the Oval Office.

The president repeated his promise of “no cuts” to Medicare and Medicaid and thanked Oz for the “big commitment” he’s making.

By the Associated Press

Their death sentences were commuted by former president Joe Biden.

The group filed the lawsuit earlier this week. They say President Trump was angry about Biden’s commutation, and in retaliation issued an executive order directing the US Attorney General to punish them by housing them “in conditions consistent with the monstrosity of their crimes.”

The plaintiffs say they were reassigned from housing in high-security prisons or federal medical centers to the Administrative Maximum prison in Florence, Colorado, which is generally reserved for the nation’s most violent offenders. They say prison is the most restrictive in the country and that the transfer plans violate their due process rights and pose mental and physical health risks.

But Christopher Edelman, the attorney for the US Department of Justice, says the men’s housing assignments haven’t yet been finalized. A preliminary injunction hearing is expected in May.

By the Associated Press

A federal judge who blocked the Trump administration from dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ruled the agency can’t go forward immediately with plans to fire hundreds of employees.

During a hearing Friday, US District Judge Amy Berman Jackson expressed concern that administration officials aren’t complying with her earlier order that maintains the agency’s existence until she rules on the merits of a lawsuit seeking to preserve the bureau.

Jackson said she’ll bar officials from carrying out any mass firings or cutting off employees’ access to agency computer systems Friday. She scheduled a hearing on April 28 to hear testimony from officials.

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By the Associated Press

The pair of Republican Congress members were in the Syrian capital Friday on an unofficial visit organized by a Syrian-American nonprofit, the first by US legislators since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in December.

Also Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in his first visit since Assad’s fall and the beginning of the Syrian uprising-turned-civil-war in 2011.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana and Representative Cory Mills of Florida visited the Damascus suburb of Jobar, the site of a historic synagogue that was heavily damaged and looted in the civil war, and the Christian neighborhood of Bab Touma, where they met with Christian religious leader. They also were set to meet al-Sharaa and other government officials.

The Trump administration has yet to officially recognize the current Syrian government, led by al-Sharaa, an Islamist former insurgent who led a lightning offensive that toppled Assad. Washington hasn’t yet lifted harsh sanctions that were imposed during Assad’s rule.

By The New York Times

Senator Lisa Murkowski, the moderate Alaska Republican who has routinely broken with her party to criticize President Donald Trump, has made a startling admission about the reality of serving in public office at a time when an unbound leader in the Oval Office is bent on retribution against his political foes.

“We are all afraid,” Murkowski said, speaking at a conference in Anchorage on Monday. After pausing for about five seconds, she acknowledged: “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

By Washington Post

Lab scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had been analyzing blood samples for weeks to determine how dozens of patients across six states had become infected with viral hepatitis, a disease that can cause serious liver damage.

But their DNA detective work stopped abruptly last week. Widespread layoffs across federal health agencies earlier this month had resulted in the firing of all 27 lab scientists who worked in the only U.S. facility that could perform the sophisticated genetic sequencing needed to investigate hepatitis outbreaks, lab experts said.

Another lab, the only one in the United States capable of testing for and tracking antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, often called “super gonorrhea,” was also recently effectively shut down.

The lab firings were part of the 2,400 staff laid off from the CDC. While officials at the Department of Health and Human Services have said the job reductions are aimed at refocusing the agency “on emerging and infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, preparedness and response,” lab experts say the reductions contradict that goal.

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By the Associated Press

US District Judge Beryl Howell declined to issue an temporary restraining order in a case about the takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonprofit think tank established by Congress.

In this case, USIP employees, a donor and grantees or contractors asked the court to prevent the firing of most employees, the cancellation of grants and contracts and the return of USIP’s building to the nonprofit’s possession. The newly installed USIP president, a DOGE staffer, transferred ownership of the building to the General Services Administration.

In her ruling, Howell said the fundamental nature of USIP, whether it’s an executive agency or an independent nonprofit, is still unclear. She also said there was a mismatch between the harm alleged by the employees and the relief they were requesting from the court.

In creating USIP, Congress mandated that it carry out certain functions but Howell said it wasn’t yet clear that USIP could not carry out its mission, even in its much reduced state.

By the Associated Press

Vance met with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome on Friday and the White House suggested a broader US-Europe summit was under consideration when Trump visits.

“I’ve been missing you,” Meloni jokingly told Vance as he entered the courtyard of Chigi Palace, the premier’s office.

They had seen each other just the previous day in the Oval Office, where Trump lavished praise on the Italian leader for her crackdown on migration but didn’t yield on tariff plans that have increased tensions with the European Union and stoked fears of recession.

The White House and Meloni’s office on Friday issued a joint statement that said Trump would visit Italy “in the very near future.”

“There is also consideration to hold, on such occasion, a meeting between U.S. and Europe,” the statement said.

By the Associated Press

The Friday release continues the disclosure of national secrets ordered by President Trump. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard says in a statement the RFK files’ release will “shine a long-overdue light on the truth.”

Gabbard says, “Nearly 60 years after the tragic assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the American people will, for the first time, have the opportunity to review the federal government’s investigation thanks to the leadership of President Trump.”

The US National Archives and Records Administration posted roughly 229 files containing the pages on its website.

By the Associated Press

The new intelligence assessment found no coordination between Tren de Aragua and the Venezuelan government, contradicting statements Trump administration officials have made to justify their invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and deporting Venezuelan migrants, according to US officials.

The classified assessment from the National Intelligence Council, released this month, is more comprehensive and authoritative than an earlier intelligence product released Feb. 26 and reported last month by The New York Times, according to two US officials familiar with the assessment. They weren’t authorized to address the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The new assessment draws input from the 18 agencies that comprise the intelligence community. It repeatedly stated that Tren de Aragua, a gang that originated in a prison in Venezuela, is not coordinated with or supported by the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, or senior officials in the Venezuelan government. While the assessment found minimal contact between some members of the gang and low-level members of the Venezuelan government, there was a consensus that there was no coordination or directive role between gang and government.

By the Associated Press

It’s the latest example of the chaotic fallout from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s effort to slash the size of the federal health workforce.

Kennedy said last month that inspections would not be affected by thousands of layoffs at the Food and Drug Administration. But dozens of staffers who helped support that work have been eliminated, including those who handled travel to remote regions of Asia where most pharmaceutical ingredients are produced.

The disruption comes as the FDA struggles to retain inspectors.

By the Associated Press

America’s only rare earths mine heard from anxious companies soon after China responded to Trump’s tariffs this month by limiting exports of those minerals used for military applications and in many high-tech devices.

“Based on the number of phone calls we’re receiving, the effects have been immediate,” said Matt Sloustcher, a spokesperson for MP Materials, the company that runs the Mountain Pass mine in California’s Mojave Desert.

The trade war between the world’s two biggest economies could lead to a critical shortage of rare earth elements if China maintains its export controls long-term or expands them to seek an advantage in any trade negotiations. The California mine can’t meet all of the US demand for rare earths, which is why Trump is trying to clear the way for new mines.

Rare earth elements are important ingredients in electric vehicles, powerful magnets, advanced fighter jets, submarines, smartphones, television screens and many other products.

By Mike Damiano, Globe Staff

The Trump administration escalated its pressure campaign against Harvard on Friday, saying it is reviewing foreign gifts and donations to the university and demanding that Harvard’s leaders turn over records.

“As a recipient of federal funding, Harvard University must be transparent about its relations with foreign sources and governments. Unfortunately, our review indicated that Harvard has not been fully transparent or complete in its disclosures, which is both unacceptable and unlawful,” said US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in a press release.

That announcement follows threats from other parts of the federal government, with President Trump threatening to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status and the Department of Homeland Security said it may shut down Harvard’s ability to enroll international students.

This latest move adds to the extraordinary confrontation between the federal government and the country’s oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious university. Billions of dollars of research funding for Harvard and Boston-area hospitals are at stake as the Trump administration tries to compel the university to make sweeping policy changes and submit to federal oversight.

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By the Associated Press

America’s only rare earths mine heard from anxious companies soon after China responded to Trump’s tariffs this month by limiting exports of those minerals used for military applications and in many high-tech devices.

“Based on the number of phone calls we’re receiving, the effects have been immediate,” said Matt Sloustcher, a spokesperson for MP Materials, the company that runs the Mountain Pass mine in California’s Mojave Desert.

The trade war between the world’s two biggest economies could lead to a critical shortage of rare earth elements if China maintains its export controls long-term or expands them to seek an advantage in any trade negotiations. The California mine can’t meet all of the US demand for rare earths, which is why Trump is trying to clear the way for new mines.

Rare earth elements are important ingredients in electric vehicles, powerful magnets, advanced fighter jets, submarines, smartphones, television screens and many other products.

By the Associated Press

George Glass arrived in Tokyo on Friday.

Glass, a prominent businessperson known for his background in finance, investment banking and technology, arrives as Washington and Tokyo are negotiating Trump’s tariff measures, which have triggered worldwide concern about their impact on the economy and global trade.

“I’m extremely optimistic ... that a deal will be get done,” Glass told reporters after landing at Tokyo’s Haneda international airport.

His arrival comes a day after the two countries held their first round of tariff talks between their top negotiators in Washington where both sides agreed to try to reach an agreement as quickly as possible and hold a second round of meetings later this month.

By the Associated Press

Among the threats tariffs pose to the US economy, none may be as strange as the sell-off in the dollar.

Currencies rise and fall all the time because of inflation fears, central bank moves and other factors. But economists worry the recent drop in the dollar is so dramatic that it reflects something more ominous as President Trump tries to reshape global trade: a loss of confidence in the US.

The dollar’s dominance in cross-border trade and as a safe haven has been nurtured by administrations of both parties for decades because it helps keep U.S. borrowing costs down and allows Washington to project power abroad — enormous advantages that could possibly disappear if faith in the US was damaged.

By the Associated Press

He’s slated to participate in a swearing in ceremony for Dr. Mehmet Oz, who was confirmed by the Senate to serve as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But there’s not expected to be press access, and there’s nothing else on Trump’s public schedule.

By the Associated Press

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the US may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.

He spoke in Paris after landmark talks among US, Ukrainian and European officials produced outlines for steps toward peace and appeared to make some long-awaited progress. A new meeting is expected next week in London, and Rubio suggested that could be decisive in determining whether the Trump administration continues its involvement.

“We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio told reporters upon departure. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on.”

“It’s not our war,” Rubio said. “We have other priorities to focus on.” He said the US administration wants to decide “in a matter of days.”

By the Associated Press

First the nation’s top law firms. Then its premier universities. Now, Trump is leaning on the advocacy groups that underpin US civil society.

Trump said Thursday that the administration is looking at the tax-exempt status not just of Harvard, but environmental groups and specifically the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW.

The president’s remarks began to confirm what advocacy groups have been quietly warning: Trump’s campaign of retribution is coming next for them.

Trump and his team have been working their way through the nation’s institutions, threatening to chisel away at the independence and autonomy of the law firms, college campuses and now advocacy groups — or putting them at risk of losing their federal funds or professional livelihood.

By the Associated Press

If Trump’s administration has its way, the capacity to hold tens of thousands more migrants will soon be added around the country as the US seeks an explosive expansion of what is already the world’s largest immigration detention system.

Trump’s effort to conduct mass deportations as promised in the 2024 campaign represents a potential bonanza for private prison companies and a challenge to the government agencies responsible for the orderly expulsion of immigrants. Some critics say the administration’s plans also include a deliberate attempt to isolate detainees by locking them up and holding court proceedings far from their attorneys and support systems.

The acting director of the ICE, Todd Lyons, said at a border security conference in Phoenix last week that the agency needs “to get better at treating this like a business” and suggested the nation’s deportation system could function “like Amazon, trying to get your product delivered in 24 hours.”

By the Associated Press

The Trump administration has escalated its ongoing battle with Harvard, threatening to block the university from enrolling international students as the president called for withdrawing Harvard’s tax-exempt status.

The moves raise the stakes of the showdown between the White House and the nation’s oldest, wealthiest and arguably most prestigious university, which on Monday became the first to openly defy the administration’s demands related to activism on campus, antisemitism and diversity.

“I think Harvard’s a disgrace,” President Trump told reporters Thursday.

By taking action against international students and the school’s tax status, the administration struck at two pillars of Harvard, where international students make up 27% of the campus, and the majority of the student body is in graduate school, often conducting globally prominent research. The school has risen to distinction by attracting the world’s top talent and large tax-deductible gifts from the country’s richest donors.

The federal government has already frozen more than $2 billion in grants and contracts to the Ivy League institution.

By James Pindell, Globe Staff

Harvard University is unrivaled when it comes to securing smart, high-powered legal advice, often from people who have the institution’s long-term interests at heart. Four of the nine current US Supreme Court justices are Harvard alumni. Retired Justice Stephen Breyer still maintains an office at the law school. And with a $53 billion endowment, Harvard can afford to hire virtually any white-shoe law firm it chooses.

But as Harvard formally resisted the Trump administration’s latest round of demands this week — unprecedented even by the administration’s own standards — it seemed, ironically, that the university might be borrowing a legal strategy from President Trump himself.

Step one: Deny any wrongdoing. Step two: Assemble a team of elite lawyers to challenge every question, motion, and investigation at length. Step three: Stall, delay, and wait it out.

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By the Associated Press

The new US ambassador to Japan arrived in Tokyo on Friday and said he is optimistic that his country and its key Asian ally will reach a deal in their ongoing tariff negotiations.

George Glass, a prominent businessperson known for his background in finance, investment banking and technology, arrives as the United States and Japan are negotiating President Trump’s tariff measures, which have triggered worldwide concern about their impact on the economy and global trade.

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By the Associated Press

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the US may be ready to “move on” from efforts for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is not progress in the coming days.

Speaking in Paris after a marathon day of landmark talks among US, Ukrainian and European officials, Rubio said the discussions had been constructive and produced an outline for steps toward peace.

French officials said a new meeting in the same format is expected in London in the coming days. Rubio said he could join that meeting, and it’s expected early in the week.

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By the Associated Press

President Trump has stepped up his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the same time that the Supreme Court is considering a case that could make it easier for the president to fire him.

The developments are occurring against a backdrop of wider turmoil in the economy and financial markets, brought on by Trump’s sweeping taxes on imports. Most economists worry that an assault on the Fed’s longstanding independence from politics would further disrupt markets and add to the uncertainty enveloping the economy.

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By the Associated Press

Amid rural Louisiana’s crawfish farms, towering pine trees and cafes serving po’boys, nearly 7,000 people are waiting at immigration detention centers to learn whether they will be expelled from the United States.

If President Trump’s administration has its way, the capacity to hold tens of thousands more migrants will soon be added around the country as the U.S. seeks an explosive expansion of what is already the world’s largest immigration detention system.

Trump’s effort to conduct mass deportations as promised in the 2024 campaign represents a potential bonanza for private prison companies and a challenge to the government agencies responsible for the orderly expulsion of immigrants. Some critics say the administration’s plans also include a deliberate attempt to isolate detainees by locking them up and holding court proceedings far from their attorneys and support systems.

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By the Associated Press

First the nation’s top law firms. Then its premier universities. Now, President Trump is leaning on the advocacy groups that underpin US civil society.

Trump said Thursday that the administration is looking at the tax-exempt status not just of Harvard, but environmental groups and specifically the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. It could be a devastating financial blow to the nonprofit organizations — and his perceived political foes.

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By the Associated Press

The highest-ranking US representative now at the United Nations told Congress two years ago that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “unprovoked” and “unjustified,” urging UN members to condemn Moscow’s aggression and demand an end to the war.

In February, it was the same career diplomat, Dorothy Shea, who voiced the Trump administration’s extraordinary decision to split with European allies and refuse to back aUN resolution blaming Russia for its invasion on the third anniversary of the war.

While it is typical for diplomats to stay on as US presidents — and their political parties — change, Shea’s interim role has unexpectedly made her a face of the stunning US transition on the world stage, with President Trump’s “America First” approach increasingly upending the post-World War II international order.

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