Luigi Mangione was indicted by a New York grand jury Thursday on four federal charges, including murder through the use of a firearm, which could make him eligible for the death penalty.
The big picture: Mangione is facing both federal and state charges in connection to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last year. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month directed the Justice Department to seek the death penalty in the case.
Why it matters: CECOT in Tecoluca, El Salvador, has become the symbol of President Trump's immigration crackdown after he sent hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants there with little or no due process.
The Trump administration must work to return a wrongly deported Maryland man, a federal appeals court said Thursday, rejecting a request to block a lower court's order requiring his return.
The big picture: The administration is resisting court orders to returnKilmar Armando Ábrego García from a notorious Salvadorian prison, despite conceding that the legal U.S. resident was deported in an "administrative error."
House Republican committee chairs are refusing to authorize Democrats' requests to lead official congressional delegations to El Salvador, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Democrats want to go to the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an erroneously deported Maryland man who the Supreme Court has ordered returned to the U.S.
The Trump administration threatened to revoke Harvard University's eligibility to host foreign students, tightening its squeeze on the school after campus leadership refused to cave in to its demands.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments next month over President Trump's efforts to restrict birthright citizenship.
Why it matters: The move represents an escalation in the legal battle over the Trump administration's bid to upend the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which automatically confers citizenship to people born on U.S. soil.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Thursday he was denied entry for a second time to a high-security prison for terrorists in El Salvador where his Maryland constituent is being held.
The big picture: The senator has been seeking to speak to and check on Kilmar Armando Ábrego García as the Trump administration evades courts' orders to facilitate the legal U.S. resident's release.
The wife of a Maryland man erroneously deported to El Salvador is defending him after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted on X a temporary protective order she filed against him in 2021.
Why it matters: The Trump administrationandits allies are doubling down on rhetoric disparaging Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, portraying him as dangerous despite court orders to get him out of a notorious Salvadoran prison.
President Trump's efforts to more directly control the Fed are coming at a perilous time, given the details of this economic moment.
The big picture: Trump wants the Fed to cut rates, but paradoxically, the more he succeeds at limiting its independence, the greater the risk of inflation expectations and long-term interest rates shooting higher.
The Trump administrationhas created a lose-lose situation for many of America's educational institutions, as it pressures universities to meet its demands or risk losing funding and tax-exempt status.
Why it matters: Universities have two options — capitulate or push back — both of which could ignite backlash and damage higher education's already flailing reputation.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) this week described widespread worry about the chaos of President Trump's second administration, telling nonprofit leaders in her state: "We are all afraid."
Why it matters: Murkowski has been a consistent voice of dissent on everything from Cabinet nominations to DOGE cuts to tariffs to renaming Denali. "I am oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice because retaliation is real," she said Monday.
President Trump's latest social media tirade against Fed Chair Jerome Powell is raising the possibility of an unprecedented — and experts say prohibited — use of executive power.
Why it matters: Trump may want to remove the country's most powerful economic policymaker, but it won't be as easy as telling him, "You're fired!" He'd likely need an assist from the Supreme Court — one some of its conservative justices have already signaled they're open to providing.
House Democrats are pressing the Social Security Administration's inspector general to open a probe into DOGE's tinkering with the agency, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Social Security is an extremely sensitive issue that touches upon the financial security of millions of older Americans — a particularly politically active group.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) Thursday called on the Trump administration to investigate the arson at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's home as a possible antisemitic hate crime.
The latest: The man charged with setting fire to Shapiro's governor residence expressed anger over the war in Gaza, according to authorities.
Trump administration officials just took their most aggressive step to thwart offshore wind by stopping ongoing construction of Empire Wind, a big project off New York's coast.
Why it matters: It's their first move against an offshore development that was already getting built.
President Trump blasted Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Thursday with the strongest suggestion yet of his intention to try to fire the nation's most powerful economic policymaker.
Why it matters: Trump's attack comes after Powell said that tariffs were likely to stoke inflation and slow economic growth.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. describes autism as a disease that needs a cure, but people with autism would rather that time and money be spent allowing them to live their lives with dignity and independence.
Why it matters: Kennedy's insistence that vaccines or other environmental factors led to increased autism diagnoses in children, despite mounds of research debunking the link, undermines decades of advocacy work people with autism have done on their own behalf.
Democrats are at odds over whether to make opposition to the Trump administration's deportation policies — and trips to the El Salvadorian prison where deportees are being held — a centerpiece of their anti-Trump message.
Why it matters: SomeDemocratic lawmakers and aides told Axios that Trump's deportation policies have even started to eclipse top issues like DOGE and tariffs in some constituent phone calls and emails.
The White House is sprinkling the traditional press corps with an array of MAGA-friendly journalists who dilute scrutiny, denigrate Democrats and ultimately flatter President Trump.
Why it matters: As traditional media loses influence, the White House is giving increasing access to a growing cast of Trump-friendly reporters, podcasters and influencers who boost his narratives from inside the house.
A top National Institutes of Health scientist who specializes in nutrition and metabolism announced his sudden retirement after 21 years, citing censorship at the agency now headed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Why it matters: RFK pledged "radical transparency" after being confirmed as HHS secretary, but NIH senior investigator Kevin Hall said Wednesday he has "experienced censorship" of his work and not enough support on his recent research into ultra-processed food addiction.
President Trump's vision for elite higher education includes eliminating perceived liberal slants, sharpening discipline measures and reconstructing the makeup of student and faculty bodies.
Why it matters: The administration's recent demands of Harvard and other elite institutions show the government's playbook to influence and reorient the priorities of universities through federal funds.
A Trump administration budget proposal calls for eliminating programs like Head Start, funding for community mental health clinics and initiatives aimed at preventing teen pregnancy in fiscal 2026.
Why it matters: The 64-page document, called a budget passback, reveals the breadth and deep extent to which the Trump administration is eyeing cuts to the federal health bureaucracy.
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