This piece first appeared in our weekly newsletter, Executive Dysfunction. Subscribe here.

No, you’re not in a weird dream: Today is, in fact, Monday, not Friday. You’re getting Executive Dysfunction today because this newsletter will now publish in the beginning of the week—not on Friday afternoon. This way, we can capture updates over the weekend and save your brains from more end-of-week news fatigue. The schedule adjustment is just one of several changes we’ll be making to this (and other newsletters) in the coming months as Rewire News Group refreshes our coverage to meet the challenges of this era in American politics.

More on that later. Now, onto the news.

Anti-democratic actions

• A group of congressional Democrats led by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders signed a letter last week urging CBS parent company Paramount Global not to settle a lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the company alleging that the network had edited a November 60 Minutes interview with then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris to make her look more favorable, POLITICO reported. “We urge you and the board of directors at Paramount to make it clear to President Trump today that Paramount will not surrender to his attack on the First Amendment,” the May 6 letter reads. “Stand up for freedom of the press and our democracy. Do not capitulate to this dangerous move to authoritarianism.”
• Trump’s plan to accept a luxury Boeing 747 plane from Qatar, which he reportedly will use as Air Force One and retain after his term ends, raises ethics concerns, CNBC reported Monday.
• Columbia University announced last week that it will effectively terminate nearly 180 positions that were funded by now-cut federal grant money.
• The Department of Education (DOE) terminated funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Ready to Learn grant, which funds the educational children’s content of PBS Kids, the Corporation announced on May 6.
• The DOE sent a letter to Harvard University saying the school will no longer receive new federal grants until it meets White House demands, NBC News reported.
• The New York Times reported on May 8 that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is looking to fire Karen Ortiz, a judge who spoke out in January against an executive order that declared the U.S. only recognizes two sexes, effectively erasing trans and non-binary people.
• A federal judge last week blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to fire thousands of federal employees and eliminate agencies, POLITICO reported.

DOGE

• The White House is moving forward with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s plan to cut dozens of National Park Service grants, the New York Times reported.
• The department, known as DOGE, has also eliminated dozens of grants that aim to increase the number of women in professions like construction and information technology, as well as funds to combat gender-based violence and workplace harassment, Mother Jones reported on May 7.

Immigration

• Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, was arrested on May 9 as he visited a Newark ICE detention center to conduct an “oversight” visit of the facility with Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman, LaMonica McIver, and Rob Menendez.
• According to the New York Times, the White House plans to begin deporting migrants from the U.S. to Libya. A federal judge said this move would violate his previous March court order mandating that migrants should be allowed 15 days to argue against being deported to countries other than that of their origin, and Al Jazeera reported that both of Libya’s rival governments—which came to power following the toppling of dictator Muammar Ghadaffi in 2011—said they won’t accept deported migrants.
• After a federal judge ordered the release of Rümeysa Öztürk on bail, she landed at Boston’s Logan Airport on May 10 and told reporters she would continue to fight her case. The Turkish Tufts University student was detained by ICE almost exactly one year after she co-authored a Tufts Daily op-ed criticizing the university’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza.
• The White House ended a program on April 25 that provided services and legal representation for immigrants with cognitive disabilities and mental health issues in most states, NBC News reported.
• The Trump administration on May 8 asked the Supreme Court to allow it to revoke legal protections allowing nearly 400,000 immigrants to live and work legally in the U.S. after an appeals court rejected the effort, according to Reuters.
• The Department of Homeland Security has announced it will offer travel support and a $1,000 stipend for immigrants who voluntarily “self-deport.”
• Trump adviser Stephen Miller said the White House is “actively looking” into suspending habeas corpus—or due process protections that allow people to petition for their release if they believe they are being wrongfully detained—for immigrants the administration wants to deport, NBC News reported.

Reproductive rights

• The Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal judge to dismiss Missouri et al. v. Food and Drug Administration, which aimed to restrict or completely repeal access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions in the U.S.
• The U.S. is cutting its funding to the United Nations Population Fund, its sexual and reproductive health agency, the fund announced on May 9.

LGBTQ+ rights

• The Supreme Court will allow the administration’s ban on transgender troops serving in the military to take effect while legal challenges to the executive order continue. Rewire News Group’s Imani Gandy dove into our archive to shed some light on the decision.
• The DOJ removed questions referring to a person’s gender identity from several federal crime surveys, which the Appeal reported will make it extremely difficult to track crimes and violence against trans people.

Health and science

• The Environmental Protection Agency will end its Energy Star certification program, which it issued to indicate an appliance met the federal government’s energy efficiency standards, Grist reported.
• NBC News reported that the White House has shut down the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee that created standards to help control the spread of infectious diseases.
• Oncologist and Covid-19 vaccine critic Vinay Prasad was appointed to lead the FDA’s vaccine department.
• Trump said he would nominate Dr. Casey Means, a wellness influencer with an inactive medical license, for surgeon general after withdrawing his nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat following reports that Nesheiwat misrepresented her credentials.

DEI and civil rights

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered military leaders to review all military library books relating to diversity, anti-racism, and gender, CBS News reported.

Recommended reading

• NBC News reported on criticism of Trump’s “baby bonus” proposal—part of his administration’s efforts to boost the country’s birth rates, without providing real support to parents.

Unwind

This week, I asked my RNG colleagues to send me the music that’s helping them decompress from the constant barrage of chaotic news. Here are our faves:

• “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bees Gees — Cage Rivera, senior graphic designer
• “Rose Pink Cadillac” by Dope Lemon — Christian Prins Coen, social media producer
• “Fear When You Fly” by Cleo Sol, “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips, and the Cat Burns cover of “Teenage Dirtbag” — Cameron Oakes, freelance editor
• Andor Season Two Soundtrack — Mallory Johns, executive director
• “Silver Lining” by Laufey — Margaret Lin, audience director
• “MUTT” by Leon Thomas — Natasha Roy, staff editor