Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned universities on Thursday to "get your act together" after halting Harvard's program to enroll international students.

The big picture: The Trump administration has targeted educational institutions, pressuring universities to meet its demands or risk losing funding and tax-exempt status.

State of play: In the latest escalation, Noem on Thursday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to terminate Harvard's ability to enroll international students, and said those currently enrolled have to transfer or lose their legal status.

• She accused the university of "fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."
• Harvard called the move unlawful and said it's "fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host international students and scholars."

What she's saying: "This should be a warning to every other university to get your act together," Noem said on Fox News on Thursday.

• "Get your act together because we are coming to make sure that these programs ... are facilitating an environment where students can learn, where they're safe and that they're not discriminated against based on their race or their religion," she continued.
• "Anti-semitism will not be stood for and any participation with a country or an entity or a terrorist group that hates America and perpetuates this kind of violence, we will stop it, and we will not allow that to happen."

Zoom out: The administration's recent demands of Harvard and other elite institutions depict the government's playbook to influence and reorient the priorities of universities through federal funds.

• The administration's stated objective is weeding out antisemitism, but it's also pushing President Trump's vision of eliminating perceived liberal slants, sharpening discipline measures and reconstructing the makeup of student and faculty bodies.

Case in point: Harvard last month became the first university to reject the administration's demands tied to its federal funding. It was met with $2 billion in grants being frozen and the IRS taking steps to revoke the university's tax-exempt status.

• Columbia, meanwhile, regained $400 million in federal grants and contracts the administration had pulled after the university agreed to meet some demands.
• Funding for Cornell, Northwestern, Brown and Princeton has also been facing potential cuts.
• In the face of threats to higher education institutions, faculty members at several Big Ten universities asked their administrations to consider a joint defense pact.

Between the lines: "This is a blueprint for fealty to the administration," Tyler Coward, lead counsel for government affairs at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, told Axios in an email Thursday.

• "Institutions must stand up for their rights now, or risk never getting them back again," he added.

Go deeper: Trump admin nixes Harvard's ability to enroll international students

The Trump administration pulled Harvard University's ability to enroll international students, the Department of Homeland Security announced Thursday.

The big picture: Harvard has been at the center of the administration's war on universities over alleged antisemitism on campus and diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

Driving the news: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ordered DHS to terminate Harvard's student and exchange visitor program certification, the agency said.

• "This means Harvard can no longer enroll foreign students and existing foreign students must transfer or lose their legal status," per DHS.
• Noem said the administration is "holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus."
• She said in a statement that the university lost their program certification "as a result of the failure to adhere to the law," calling it "a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country."

What they're saying: Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton called the government's action unlawful.

• "We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard's ability to host international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the University – and this nation – immeasurably," he said in an emailed statement.
• He said the university is working quickly to provide guidance to the campus community.
• "This retaliatory action threatens serious harm to the Harvard community and our country, and undermines Harvard's academic and research mission," Newton said.

Context: The administration has for months been discussing plans to try to block certain colleges from having any foreign students if it decides too many are "pro-Hamas," Axios reported.

• The idea of prohibiting colleges from enrolling any student visa-holders grew out of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's "Catch and Revoke" program, which now is focusing on students who protested against the war in Gaza.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

More from Axios:

• Exclusive: Trump's "pro-Hamas" purge could block foreign students from colleges
• Trump admin cancels additional grants to Harvard
• Trump admin to halt new grant funding to Harvard

A man was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Thursday in relation to the fatal shooting of two people outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., according to a criminal complaint.

The big picture: Elias Rodriguez of Chicago is also facing federal charges that include murder of foreign officials, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm, and discharge of a firearm during a crime.

Driving the news: The killings of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim are being investigated as a hate crime and a crime of terrorism, Jeanine Pirro, interim U.S. attorney in Washington, said during a press conference Thursday.

• Pirro called it "a death penalty-eligible case" but said it's "far too early" to determine whether prosecutors will pursue it.
• Authorities are executing search warrants for Rodriguez' electronic devices, reviewing his social media accounts and all of his internet postings, FBI officials said during the briefing.

Zoom in: Rodriguez allegedly told an officer at the scene of the shooting that he "did it" and that he was unarmed, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent.

• The affidavit states that the suspect was captured on security video firing a weapon several times at the two victims before getting closer and "firing several more times."
• One of the victims attempted to crawl away but the suspect followed behind her and fired again, per the affidavit.
• A 9-millimeter handgun was recovered from the scene, the affidavit says.

Context: Rodriguez was arrested Wednesday after being apprehended by a museum security guard minutes after the shooting.

• He is believed to have acted alone, police said.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Former President Biden's cancer diagnosis and new revelations about the White House's efforts to hide his deteriorating health highlight the murky standards for what health information presidents are required to disclose.

The big picture: There is no legal requirement for presidents to divulge their health records or status. There's also no agreed-upon definition of what being "fit for office" means.

State of play: Perceptions of politicians' privacy — and what's out of bounds — have significantly changed over the past century.

• The focus on a president's health and ability to serve became more important with ratification of the 25th Amendment in 1967. That addressed presidential succession and instances in which the president can't discharge the duties of the office — but without laying out a medical threshold or saying who precisely should determine fitness for office.
• Since then, there's been tension between presidents' medical privacy and the public's right to know, with privacy giving ground to fuller disclosure, the AMA Journal of Ethics noted in 2000.

Zoom in: U.S. presidents have in the past hidden their impairments.

• Grover Cleveland secretly underwent surgery for oral cancer on a yacht in 1893.
• The public was unaware that Woodrow Wilson suffered a major stroke in 1919 that incapacitated him until the end of his term in 1921.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt submitted to physician exams of his infirmity from polio before the 1932 presidential race, though was seldom photographed in a wheelchair.
• John F. Kennedy took pains to conceal multiple medical conditions such as Addison's disease in order to project youthful vigor.

Zoom out: Access to the health information of presidential candidates was a point of contention, including during the 2024 election.

• Biden, at that point the oldest person to ever serve as president, dropped out of the race in the summer after a disastrous debate performance ignited concerns about his age and physical health.
• Then-candidate Trump agreed to release his medical records but didn't end up doing so — breaking with a longstanding tradition for presidential candidates. Trump has since become the oldest person to take the oath of office.
• Then-Vice President Kamala Harris, in contrast, released detailed health records and called on Trump to do the same as questions about his physical and cognitive health mounted.

Flashback: Democratic presidential candidate Paul Tsongas and his physicians denied he had a recurrence of lymphoma while he campaigned in 1992 until he dropped out.

• In 1972, Democratic vice presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the ticket after acknowledging he had been hospitalized for depression and underwent electroshock therapy.

Go deeper: Biden camp pushes back against suspicion over cancer diagnosis timing

Axios' Adriel Bettelheim contributed to this report.

A federal judge on Wednesday found that the Trump administration "unquestionably" violated a court order when it quickly deported immigrants to South Sudan.

The big picture: The rebuke from U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy is among the strongest against President Trump's deportation agenda, which has tested the powers of the executive over the judiciary.

The latest: The deported individuals must be given access to counsel and a reasonable fear interview in private with at least 72-hours notice, Murphy said in a court order later Wednesday.

• "Should any individual raise a fear with respect to deportation to the third country that DHS determines falls short of 'reasonable fear,' the individual must be provided meaningful opportunity, and a minimum of 15 days, to seek to move to reopen immigration proceedings to challenge the potential third-country removal," the judge wrote.
• The Department of Homeland Security must provide status reports every seven days on each of the individuals, Murphy added.
• It's up to the department's discretion whether they choose to return the individuals to the U.S. and carry out the process in the country, or whether they do so abroad in DHS custody, per the order.
• All individuals "potentially involved in any removal that may implicate this order have been told that failure to comply with the terms of the preliminary injunction may subject them to civil or criminal contempt," according to the court.

Driving the news: Murphy found that the government did not give enough time for eight immigrants from various nationalities to contest their removal before they were put on a plane to South Sudan early Tuesday.

• "It was impossible for these people to have a meaningful opportunity to object to their transfer to South Sudan," Murphy said, adding that the 17-hour window of the events was "plainly" and "undeniably" insufficient, per CNN.
• The "actions in this case were unquestionably in violation of this court's order," the judge said.

Context: Immigration attorneys accused the Trump administration of deporting immigrants from Myanmar and Vietnam to South Sudan in violation of a court order Murphy issued last month.

• The judge had already ruled that sending undocumented immigrants to countries they're not citizens of would "clearly violate" an earlier order against sending people to third countries.

Zoom in: Murphy said in an order late Tuesday that the administration must "maintain custody and control" of immigrants "being removed to South Sudan or to any other third country" in case he finds such removals were unlawful.

• He said he's leaving "the practicalities of compliance" to the Trump administration but expects the immigrants "will be treated humanely."
• The Department of Homeland Security identified eight individuals ICE deported and listed crimes it said they were convicted of in a news release also shared on the White House's website on Wednesday.

Go deeper: Judge: Trump admin's deportations to South Sudan may have violated order

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include details of U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy's Wednesday night court order.

Former President Biden's team on Tuesday sought to shut down questions over how long they've known about his cancer diagnosis.

The big picture: After previous concerns that the 82-year-old's health issues may have been covered up in the past, Biden's disclosure over the weekend that he has Stage 4 prostate cancer was met with both sympathy and speculation over its timing.

What they're saying: A spokesperson for Biden told Axios in an emailed statement Tuesday evening that the former president's last known prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test was in 2014.

• "Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer," the spokesperson said.

State of play: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation on screening for prostate cancer holds that it's an individual choice for men age 55-69 and that it offers a small potential benefit of reducing the chances of death.

• They worry about potential harms of screening, including additional testing, prostate biopsy, over-treatment and complications.
• For those 70 and older, like Biden, they advise against it, saying with moderate certainty that potential benefits don't outweigh expected harms.

Between the lines: Biden was 70 or 71 years old when he had his last PSA, before he had symptoms that led to last Friday's exam. That's within standard guidelines and is not unusual.

• It is noteworthy, however, that he apparently was not tested for it even while he was president.

Context: Biden's personal office announced his diagnosis on Sunday.

• "On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone," they said.
• Even at that advanced stage, physicians say the condition can be managed, thought not cured.
• He was evaluated last week after doctors found a "small nodule" in his prostate during a routine physical exam.

Go deeper: Biden's cancer diagnosis draws sympathy — and suspicion

The Trump administration has instituted all sorts of requirements in its first months to monitor Americans, particularly immigrants.

The big picture: From an undocumented immigrant registry to proof-of-citizenship for voting, President Trump has attempted to create a landscape in which the government can demand to know — and force people to prove — their identity in radical new ways.

Between the lines: The data the administration is pushing for can be weaponized against people.

Immigration

As part of its immigration crackdown, the administration instituted a plan to require undocumented immigrants to register with the federal government, which a federal judge gave a stamp of approval.

• The plan requires undocumented immigrants age 14 or older to provide their fingerprints or face a fine or even imprisonment.
• The Department of Homeland Security launched an app that officials say will allow immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally to report when they "self-deport."
• Targets of the administration's immigration crackdown also include U.S. tourists and permanent residents from around the world, who have been arrested, detained and deported at ports of entry.
• Social Security is now an immigration enforcement tool.
• The Internal Revenue Service reached an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to share the tax information of undocumented immigrants with immigration authorities.

Education

As part of the Trump administration's playbook to influence and reorient the priorities of universities, school protest leaders have been targets.

• Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of Columbia's pro-Palestinian protests, was arrested without a warrant and has remained in ICE custody.
• Free-speech advocates see it as a chilling escalation of Trump's immigration crackdown and as a First Amendment issue. The White House argues that his actions in helping to lead campus protests against Israel's treatment of Palestinians run afoul of the president's order banning antisemitism.

Meanwhile, as the government probes schools over alleged antisemitism, employees at Barnard College received a survey from a federal regulator asking if they were Jewish and whether they practiced Judaism.

• That was characterized as part of a federal investigation into whether the university discriminated against Jewish employees.
• "That the government is putting together lists of Jews, ostensibly as part of a campaign to fight antisemitism, is really chilling," Nara Milanich, a Barnard history professor who is Jewish, told AP. "As a historian, I have to say it feels a little uncomfortable."

Voting

Trump signed an executive order in March to make sweeping changes to federal elections, including a proof of citizenship requirement. A federal judge blocked that requirement last week.

• The House, meanwhile, passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, requiring voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote. SAVE aims to restrict noncitizen voting in federal elections — which is exceptionally rare and illegal.

Health

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he's launching a disease registry to track Americans with autism.

• The National Institutes of Health is collecting private medical records from both federal and commercial databases.

Go deeper: MAGA momentum wanes as Trump stumbles across 100-day mark

A 9-month-old baby who was born with a rare genetic disorder is the first person to be successfully treated with personalized CRISPR gene editing therapy, scientists in Philadelphia announced on Thursday.

The big picture: This "historic medical breakthrough" could "provide a pathway for gene editing technology to be successfully adapted to treat individuals with rare diseases for whom no medical treatments are available," per a statement from the University of Pennsylvania and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

• While KJ "is just one patient, we hope he is the first of many to benefit from a methodology that can be scaled to fit an individual patient's needs," said a Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, an assistant professor of pediatrics and genetics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania who treated the infant, in a statement.

Driving the news: KJ was born with a rare metabolic disease known as severe carbamoyl phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency, per according from the statement from the hospital and the university's Penn Medicine.

What they did: Researchers "corrected a specific gene mutation in the baby's liver cells that led to the disorder," per a Thursday statement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which supported the research, the findings of which were published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday.

• After spending the first several months of his life in the hospital, KJ received the first dose of his bespoke therapy in February.
• He is "now growing well and thriving" after the treatment was safely administered, per the hospital and the university's Penn Medicine.

Context: The research that scientists are hailing as "historic" comes after years of progress in gene editing and decades of federally funded research.

• Gene editing based on CRISPR, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat, can precisely correct disease-causing variants in the human genome.
• "CRISPR is an advanced gene editing technology that enables precise changes to DNA inside living cells," according to the NIH.
• "This is the first known case of a personalized CRISPR-based medicine administered to a single patient and was carefully designed to target non-reproductive cells so changes would only affect the patient."

What they're saying: "As a platform, gene editing — built on reusable components and rapid customization — promises a new era of precision medicine for hundreds of rare diseases," said Joni Rutter, director of NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, in a statement.

• It's "bringing life-changing therapies to patients when timing matters most: Early, fast, and tailored to the individual," Rutter added.

The bottom line: "This truly is the future for all of these gene and cell therapies," said Arkasubhra Ghosh, who studies gene therapy at Narayana Nethralaya Eye Hospital in Bengaluru, India, per Nature.

• "It's really exciting," added Ghosh, who wasn't involved in the study.

Go deeper: Gene therapy's slow rollout offers a reality check

During a visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, President Trump had videos shown in the Oval Office purporting to show evidence of violence against white people in the country.

The big picture: The visit comes after Trump cut all foreign assistance to the country and parroted false allegations that white South Africans are being subjected to genocide, while granting them refugee status in the U.S.

• Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa and has criticized its government, attended the talks.

Driving the news: Ramaphosa's office said in a press release that the visit is "to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of interest" and to provide a platform "to reset the strategic relationship" between the two countries.

• The announcement comes the same week the Trump administration accepted white Afrikaner refugees, with the U.S. president claiming "they're being killed" in "a genocide."
• The White House also reportedly ordered federal agencies to halt work on the G20 conference to be hosted by South Africa later this year.

State of play: Although Trump has closed the door to asylum seekers from elsewhere, he's opened it up for white South Africans affected by the country's controversial new land reform law to counter the lingering effects of apartheid.

• South Africa's Expropriation Act allows the government to take some land and redistribute as part of a long-running effort to lessen the racial and economic disparities created by apartheid.
• Under apartheid, which ended in 1994, South Africa's white minority government prevented Black citizens from owning land or enjoying basic rights for nearly a half-century.
• Three decades later, South Africa's president and many other leaders are Black. However, white people make up 7.3% of South Africa's population and own 72% of the farmland, a disparity that continues to ripple through the economy.

Zoom in: Trump has falsely accused South Africa of unfairly seizing Afrikaners' agricultural property and allowing attacks against white farmers.

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeated Trump's claims on social media. He refused to attend the G20 summit in Johannesburg, claiming: "South Africa is doing very bad things. Expropriating private property."
• South African-born Elon Musk, a top Trump adviser, has peddled conspiracy theories that his native country is "pushing for genocide of white people."
• Grok, the AI chatbot incorporated into Musk's X, recently responded unprompted to users with misleading claims about the alleged "white genocide" in South Africa.

Context: The belief in a "white genocide" is closely linked to a once-fringe idea called "white replacement theory," which imagines a plot to change nations' racial composition by enacting policies that reduce whites' political power.

Reality check: There's no evidence that white farmers are experiencing a spike in violence, despite a few high-profile cases.

• The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's most popular white-led political party, is made up of multiethnic voters and is challenging the land law.
• A South African court dismissed claims of a "white genocide" as "clearly imagined and not real."

Between the lines: Paul S. Landau, a University of Maryland historian and South African expert, told Axios that allegations that whites in South Africa are under attack and of Trump's offer to resettle white South Africans are based on racism and debunked conspiracy theories.

• Black women farmers, he said, are the ones facing land losses.

More from Axios:

• Musk's Grok makes "white genocide" claims on X about South Africans
• Trump administration welcomed white Afrikaners while ending Afghan protections
• Read: Episcopal Church won't help Trump admin resettle white Afrikaners
• Trump's open door to white South Africans buys into conspiracy theory

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information.

Ben & Jerry's co-founder Ben Cohen was among seven people arrested during Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday, police confirmed.

The big picture: Cohen, who along with the ice cream company has long engaged in corporate political activism, indicated he was protesting the U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Driving the news: Video from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing shows protesters yelling, "RFK kills people with hate!" before police escorted them out.

• Seven people, including Cohen, were arrested on suspicion of crowding, obstructing or "incommoding," which means inconveniencing or distressing others, according to Capitol Police.
• Some of them, though not Cohen, were also accused of assault on a police officer or resisting arrest, per an emailed Capitol Police statement.
• Cohen was accused of "crowding, obstructing or incommoding," per the statement.

What he's saying: Cohen said in a post on X on Wednesday, "I told Congress they're killing poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs, and they're paying for it by kicking poor kids off Medicaid in the US."

• Sharing video from the incident, he added, "This was the authorities' response."
• Ben & Jerry's did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment Wednesday evening.

Zoom out: The ice cream company has taken political positions on a range of issues.

• Ben & Jerry's announced in 2021 that it would no longer allow its Israeli franchisee to market their ice cream in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, but would continue to sell it within Israel's pre-1967 borders.

Flashback: Axios on HBO: Ben and Jerry's Founders on Sales in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

There is "a war on the American public having transparency" about their health and their treatment, White House health adviser Calley Means said Wednesday at Axios' Future of Health Summit in D.C.

Why it matters: The former health influencer turned White House aide has become an ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who shares his disillusionment with the U.S. medical system.

• Kennedy "has a spiritual mandate" from voters "to reform our broken institution," Means told Axios' Maya Goldman.
• He said the American people have a "crisis of trust" in health care institutions.

Zoom in: "I'm in the party of Elon Musk, who saw an environmental catastrophe that everyone on the left was complaining about for years and years and years, and has become the greatest environmentalist in the history of modern civilization," Means said.

• The White House adviser said he believes there are "almost genocidal levels of children's chronic disease" and Trump ordered an assessment via executive order to find out why.
• He said the upcoming report, which he called "the strongest statement in the history of the U.S. government," shows 95% of health care spending is on chronic disease.
• Means argued that the U.S. doesn't need to "spend more on health care" and blamed ultra-processed foods, pesticides, environmental toxins and "overmedicalization" for chronic disease in America.

Zoom out: Responding to the Trump administration's point "that we are going bankrupt from health care costs," Means said, they're "going to take a sledgehammer to waste, fraud and abuse" in upcoming budget proposals.

Catch up quick: Means was tapped in March to become a "special government employee" and implement the Trump administration's plan to address chronic illness.

• He's specifically focused on food policy.

Zoom out: His sister, Casey Means, a wellness influencer, was tapped by the White House this month to serve as surgeon general.

Go deeper: Meet the siblings tapped for RFK's health agenda

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details, and the headline corrected to state that Means says Kennedy (not Means himself) has the "spiritual mandate."

The $400 million jet that President Trump says the Air Force plans to accept from Qatar would be worth 100 times more than every other presidential gift from a foreign nation combined since 2001, according to an Axios analysis of State Department data.

Why it matters: The prospect of such a lavish gift from the Qatari royal family raised major ethics concerns and sparked rare backlash from a set of influential MAGA media stars.

By the numbers: Presidents reported a mere $3.8 million worth of gifts from foreign countries between George W. Bush's inauguration and 2023 — the most recent year data was available.

• Until now, the biggest gift has been a "hand-made and specially commissioned bronze sculpture depicting two horses" given to President Obama from Saudi Arabia, estimated to be worth roughly $500,000.
• Gulf nations — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain — account for a stunning share of the most lavish and expensive gifts offered to American leaders.
• Axios' analysis excluded gifts reported by first ladies and other members of presidential families.

Zoom in: In a mid-flight interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity that aired Tuesday, Trump said the current Air Force One plane is "much smaller" and "much less impressive," adding that "we should have the most impressive plane."

• The president argued the plane would be a gift to the U.S., not him personally. "I get nothing, I get to fly it like any other president would."
• "My attitude is, why wouldn't I accept a gift? We're giving to everybody else," he told Hannity.

State of play: The Constitution prohibits anyone in the U.S. government from receiving a personal gift from a foreign head of state without the consent of Congress.

• Congress has allowed presidents and all federal employees to keep gifts from a foreign government as long as they don't exceed $480.
• Presents valued over that amount may be accepted, but they must be turned over to the National Archives.

The big picture: U.S. presidents have been presented with gifts ranging from books to paintings to antiques to diamonds, and even animals, from foreign countries.

• Obama received a crocodile attack insurance policy during an official visit to Australia in 2011. The framed policy was later transferred to the National Archives.
• President George W. Bush was gifted a puppy by Bulgaria's president. The pup was placed with another family.
• Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan both received baby elephants. Eisenhower's Dzimbo made his permanent home at the National Zoo, as did Reagan's Jayathu.

Editor's note: This story was corrected to note that presidents reported $3.8 million in gifts between 2001 and 2023 (not 2024).

Go deeper: Trump says it would be "stupid" not to accept free jet from Qatar

A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday resentenced Lyle and Erik Menendez, the brothers who were convicted of killing their parents in 1989.

The big picture: The new sentences make the pair eligible for parole, in a high-profile case that has for years sought the brothers' release.

• The case gained new attention last year with the release of two documentaries about the case.

Driving the news: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic said during a hearing Tuesday that he would resentence both men to 50 years to life in prison.

Context: The brothers have until now been serving sentences of life in prison without parole.

• Then-L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón had recommended to the court in October that the pair be resentenced for murder, removing their initial sentences of life without parole.
• Because both men were under 26 years old at the time the crime occurred, that would make them eligible for parole immediately.
• But the new top prosecutor, District Attorney Nathan Hochman, in March said he opposes resentencing, which upended expectations for the brothers' release.

Go deeper: Prosecutor opposes Menendez brothers' resentencing, upending bid for release

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted the Wisconsin judge who was arrested by the FBI last month for allegedly trying to help an undocumented defendant avoid arrest.

The big picture: Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan was indicted on charges of concealing a person from arrest and obstruction of proceedings, allowing the case to proceed, according to local media reports.

What they're saying: "As she said after her unnecessary arrest, Judge Dugan asserts her innocence and looks forward to being vindicated in court," Dugan's legal team at Mastantuono Coffee & Thomas SC said in an emailed statement on her behalf on Tuesday evening.

• The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Axios' Tuesday evening request for comment.

Catch up quick: Dugan, who has served nearly a decade on the court, was arrested late last month on two charges, including obstructing or impeding a proceeding before a department or agency of the U.S. and with concealing an individual to prevent his discovery or arrest.

• She was accused of trying to help an undocumented immigrant scheduled to appear in her courtroom to avoid arrest by immigration officials.
• Dugan was released from custody the same day as her arrest, after appearing in federal court.
• The Wisconsin Supreme Court then essentially suspended the judge, claiming in an order "it is in the public interest" for her to be "temporarily relieved of her official duties."

More from Axios:

• Wisconsin judge "temporarily relieved" of duties by state's high court
• What to know about Wisconsin judge arrested by FBI
• READ: FBI criminal complaint against Wisconsin judge

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

The Trump administration can invoke the Aliens Enemies Act to deport alleged Tren de Aragua gang members, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

The big picture: U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines is the first to approve the Trump administration's use of the 18th-century wartime law to quickly carry out deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador.

Zoom in: Haines determined that as long as the government provides sufficient notice and due process, President Trump can remove members of a foreign terrorist organization, which Tren de Aragua was designated in February.

• The judge said the government has to provide a 21-day notice in a language understood by the migrants and an "opportunity to be heard" before deporting people under the Alien Enemies Act.
• That timeframe is longer than the 24-hour notice the government has asserted it needs to give migrants.
• "Having done its job, the Court now leaves it to the Political Branches of the government, and ultimately to the people who elect those individuals, to decide whether the laws and those executing them continue to reflect their will," Haines wrote.

Zoom out: Federal judges in at least three states have issued orders blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.

• The administration has invoked the wartime law to quickly deport undocumented immigrants, often with little or no due process.

Catch up quick: In March, the administration defied a federal judge's order barring the deportation of about 250 people the government claims are Tren de Aragua gang members.

• The administration argued the deportation flights, which were not turned around as ordered, had taken off before the judge's written order came through and were justified under the Alien Enemies Act.
• Following lower court rulings, the Supreme Court last month allowed the administration to resume use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. But the court said the government has to give deportees "reasonable time" to challenge their removal in court before leaving the country.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Go deeper: Trump-appointed judge rules using Alien Enemies Act for deportations is unlawful

The Trump administration welcomed white South African refugees into the U.S. on Monday, the same day it announced it is ending deportation protections for refugees from Afghanistan.

The big picture: The coinciding moves show a split screen of President Trump's immigration crackdown, accepting one group while revoking protections from the other.

• Since taking office, Trump has sought to get rid of some U.S. refugee admission policies, which have traditionally been focused on resettling people fleeing violence, war, famine and genocide.

Driving the news: The first flight carrying a group of South Africans granted refugee status arrived in Virginia on Monday, the State Department announced.

• The admission of Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority that dominated South African politics during apartheid, is in response to Trump's "call to prioritize U.S. refugee resettlement of this vulnerable group facing unjust racial discrimination in South Africa," the department said.
• The group has said they have been denied jobs and faced violence because of their race.
• More Afrikaner refugees will arrive in the U.S. in the coming months, per the State Department.

Zoom in: Asked why there's an expedited path into the country for Afrikaners but not for others, Trump said Monday, "Because they're being killed. And we don't want to see people be killed," adding, "it's a genocide that's taking place."

• "Farmers are being killed. They happen to be white, but whether they're white or black makes no difference to me," Trump said.
• But a South African court determined in February that claims of a white genocide in the country are not true.

State of play: Over 9,000 Afghans could face deportation after the Department of Homeland Security announced the revocation of their temporary protected status on Monday.

• DHS said last month that it would not renew TPS status for Afghanistan refugees, but said Monday that termination is slated for July 12.
• Permitting Afghans to remain temporarily in the U.S. "is contrary to the national interest" of the country, the department said in its release.
• DHS Secretary Kristi Noem "determined that, overall, there are notable improvements in the security and economic situation such that requiring the return of Afghan nationals to Afghanistan does not pose a threat to their personal safety due to ongoing-armed conflict or extraordinary and temporary conditions," the department said.
• In 2023, then-President Biden extended deportation protections for Afghan refugees who fled their homes after the U.S. withdrew its forces from Afghanistan in 2021.

What they're saying: White House spokesperson Kush Desai accused the Biden administration on Monday evening of "illegally [paroling] tens of thousands of Afghans into the U.S., plus hundreds of thousands of other aliens."

• He said in an emailed statement, "Parole, a temporary benefit, is granted case by case for urgent humanitarian reasons or public benefit—it is not a pathway to permanent residence or citizenship."
• Desai added, "Afghans lacking legal grounds to stay and fearing persecution on protected grounds may apply for asylum and have the courts adjudicate their cases."

Zoom out: The Trump administration is reportedly considering exempting Christian Afghans from deportation as several Christian groups have lobbied for them to remain in the U.S. due to fears of persecution by the Taliban, Politico reported last month.

Yes, but: Refugee groups have condemned ending TPS for Afghans as many who fled the country and were granted the status helped the U.S military during its two-decade military presence in the Central Asian nation.

• "Terminating protections for Afghans is a morally indefensible betrayal of allies who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us to advance American interests throughout our country's longest war," Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge said in a statement last month.
• Vignarajah also pointed to the dangers waiting for many Afghan women and girls if they return to their home country, "where they face systemic oppression and gender-based violence."
• It "would be an utterly unconscionable stain on our nation's reputation," Vignarajah said.

Flashback: Trump tried to end TPS designations for several countries during his first term.

• Since taking office for a second time, his administration has moved to end temporary deportation protections for an estimated 300,000-plus Venezuelans living in the United States, as well as for Haitian migrants.
• TPS is a federal program that allows migrants from certain countries to legally live and work in the U.S. while the conditions in their home country are unsafe.

Go deeper: Afghan refugees in Iowa told to leave the U.S.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from White House spokesperson Kush Desai.

President Trump on Monday dismissed criticism of his plan to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar to serve as Air Force One, calling it "stupid" to turn down the gift.

Why it matters: Democrats decried the reported gift from the Qatari royal family of a luxury Boeing 747-8 — dubbed a "palace in the sky," but Trump shrugged off the blowback.

• The news came ahead of Trump's Gulf trip scheduled this week.

What he's saying: "I think it's a great gesture from Qatar. I appreciate it very much," Trump told reporters Monday. "I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer."

• He continued, "I mean, I could be a stupid person, say, 'No, we don't want a free, very expensive airplane,'" adding, "I thought it was a great gesture."

Zoom in: Pressed on ethical concerns around accepting the gift, the president rebuked an ABC reporter, saying, "You should be embarrassed asking that question."

• "They're giving us a free jet. I could say, 'No, no, no, don't give us. I want to pay you a billion or $400 million, or whatever it is.' Or I could say, 'Thank you very much,'" Trump said.
• He noted the gift is not being made to him personally but rather to the Department of Defense.

More from Axios:

• Backstory: How Trump got a free "palace in the sky"
• Scoop: Dem seeks probe into reports Qatar plans to gift plane to Trump
• What to know about Trump's history with Qatar, which wants to gift him a plane

Stephen Miller, President Trump's top policy adviser, said Friday the White House is exploring the option of suspending habeas corpus, the constitutional provision that protects from unlawful detainment.

Why it matters: The move marks another escalation in the Trump administration's fight again the judicial branch as it tries to ramp up deportations of undocumented immigrants.

What he's saying: "The Constitution is clear," Miller told reporters outside the White House. "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion. So, to say that's an option we're actively looking at ... a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not."

• The Constitution allows for habeas corpus to be suspended "when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
• Miller cited the termination of temporary protected status for some immigrants, alleging the courts violated laws passed by Congress by stepping in where they had no jurisdiction.
• "The courts aren't just at war with the executive branch. The courts are at war, these radical rogue judges, with the legislative branch as well too," Miller said. "All of that will inform the choice that the president ultimately makes."

Zoom out: Trump has tried to frame undocumented immigration as an "invasion" of the U.S. in many of his executive orders, invoking sweeping war-time powers to speed up immigrants' removals, often with little or no due process.

• Trump has raged against judges who have blocked many of those measures, leading to threats to impeach them.
• The administration has at times defied court orders, including when it failed to turn back deportation flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members a judge ordered returned.
• Though the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the administration to "facilitate" the return of the wrongly deported Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, the administration has argued that doesn't require it to take any active measures to bring him home.
• A federal judge threatened to hold the administration in contempt of court for failing to abide by the Supreme Court ruling.

Go deeper: Courts become the final guardrail against Trump

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, the second day of voting in the internationally watched papal conclave.

• He will be known to the world as Pope Leo XIV.

Why it matters: Leo is the first American pope and now heads a church with some 1.4 billion members worldwide. But his power will transcend the faith community as Leo assumes a role with vast diplomatic and social influence.

Driving the news: After the white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel to signal that a conclave winner had emerged Thursday evening, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti made the famous "Habemus Papam" ("We have a pope") announcement and introduced Leo to the world.

• Prevost was born in Chicago and was a priest at parishes in the city before serving in Peru and working alongside his predecessor, Pope Francis, in Rome. He's also the Catholic Church's first Augustinian pope.
• During his two decades in Peru, the New York Times reports, he became a bishop and a naturalized citizen. Francis appointed him as a cardinal in 2023.
• A mentee of his described him to the Times as a "dignified middle of the road."
• He's served as the president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

The intrigue: Leo's views on some key topics remain unclear.

• An account by his name has retweeted and shared critical posts about the Trump administration, including one that read, "Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."
• In 2024, he said it was time to move "from words to action" on the deterioration of the environment, the official Vatican News site reported, adding that "dominion over nature" should not be "tyrannical."
• Leo told the Vatican News last year that "the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom" and that a church leader is "called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them."
• In a 2023 interview, he said he still considers himself "a missionary."

Zoom in: The new pope said he does not believe in "clericalizing women" in the Catholic Church and strongly opposes abortion.

• He described in 2012 Western media "sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel," citing the "homosexual lifestyle" and "alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children," per the Irish Times.

What they're saying: Michael Canaris, a scholar at Loyola University Chicago, said the new pope's connection to Peru forms a bridge from his predecessor Pope Francis.

• "Most heartening to me is his choice of name, which obviously contains an allusion to Leo XIII, and his famous text Rerum Novarum. This supported labor rights and unions in the church at the dawn of the contemporary world," Canaris told Axios' Carrie Shepherd.

State of play: Prevost received the required two-thirds majority of cardinal electors to become the next pope.

• He was chosen during either the fourth or fifth round of voting after one vote on Wednesday and two votes on Thursday morning yielded no consensus among the cardinals.

Between the lines: In papal betting markets that sought to predict the outcome of the often unpredictable, and highly secretive, conclave, he was not a top contender.

• Scholars previously believed it was unlikely the new pope would hail from America.

Context: The more than 130 cardinals participating in the conclave, which began Wednesday, took an oath of absolute secrecy before voting began in the Sistine Chapel.

Catch up quick: Francis' death last month set the conclave in motion, bringing Cardinals from around the world to the Vatican to usher in a new era of Catholic leadership.

• During his chapter of the church, Francis championed historically progressive stances, such as spreading climate change awareness and advocating for immigrants' rights and inclusivity toward LGBTQ+ people.

More from Axios:

• Why Asia, Africa loom large in deciding next pope
• Pope Francis' popemobile to serve as health clinic for Gaza children
• "Conclave" viewership spikes after Pope Francis' death

Carrie Shepherd contributed reporting.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

The Trump administration invoked the state secrets privilege in the case of Kilmar Armando Ábrego García, a Maryland man erroneously deported to El Salvador, a judge's court filing revealed Wednesday.

The big picture: It's the second time the Trump administration has sought to utilize the privilege to circumvent a judge's request for more information regarding deportations recently.

• The administration in March sought to use the same privilege in a case regarding its evasion of a judge's order to turn back deportation flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members.
• The state secrets privilege allows the government to withhold sensitive information from being disclosed in court when it believes doing so would harm national security or foreign relations.

Zoom in: U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis requested a briefing on the invocation of the privilege by May 12, court documents show.

• The administration's attempt to claim state secrets comes after Xinis last month ordered them to provide documents and answer questions to show what's being done to "facilitate" Ábrego García's release.

Context: The Trump administration has so far refused to comply with a Supreme Court order requiring it to facilitate Ábrego García's return from El Salvador.

• The government accused Ábrego García, a Salvadorian national legally living in Maryland, of being a member of MS-13, even though he has not been charged with any gang-related crimes.
• The administration claims they are in compliance with the Supreme Court's order, saying that they would simply have to help if El Salvador asks to send Ábrego García back.

Go deeper: Timeline: The case of a Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador