Bessent to Skip G20 Finance Ministers Meeting in South Africa The Treasury secretary is the second top U.S. official not to attend the Group of 20 gatherings because of rising tension with South Africa over its land policies.

RFK Jr. Announces New HHS Guidance Recognizing Only Two Sexes The new guidance follows President Trump’s demand that the Health and Human Services Department align with his executive order barring transgender athletes from women’s sports.

Trump, Musk and the Reality Behind the Lovefest President Trump and Elon Musk gushed over each other during a joint appearance on Fox News. But the interview was fascinating for all the things they did not explain.

With Truth Social, Trump Has Official Mouthpiece and a Channel for Revenue The president’s company, Trump Media & Technology Group, represents a clear mingling of his official duties and his business interests.

Trump Labor Nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer Faces Pressure at Senate Hearing Asked for her views on pro-labor legislation she backed as a House Republican, Lori Chavez-DeRemer said she would simply serve the president’s agenda.

Civil Rights Groups Sue Trump Administration Over DEI Orders The organizations claimed that the president had exceeded his authority in issuing the orders, and that they intentionally discriminated against Black and transgender people.

Judge Declines to Block Musk Team’s Foray Into Federal Agencies A coalition of states had sought to temporarily block Elon Musk’s operatives from having access to sensitive data and ordering mass firings.

Trump Administration Moves to Fast-Track Hundreds of Fossil Fuel Projects The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has cited President Trump’s claim of a national energy emergency to speed up permits for new gas pipelines and other projects.

Here’s What to Know About Congressional Republicans’ Budget Plans The Senate is debating a fiscal blueprint that would pave the way for part of President Trump’s domestic policy agenda, while the House is on a separate track.

Courts Force a Window Into Musk’s Secretive Unit Elon Musk has described his operation, tasked with a drastic government overhaul, as “maximally transparent.” But legal filings have shown an effort to wall him off from scrutiny by downplaying his role.

Trump’s Pivot Toward Putin’s Russia Upends Generations of U.S. Policy As peace talks opened in Saudi Arabia, President Trump made clear that the days of isolating Russia are over and suggested that Ukraine was to blame for being invaded.

170 Migrants Deported From U.S. Agree to Return to Home Countries, Panama Says Days after the United States sent 300 migrants from Asia and the Middle East to Panama, a Panamanian official said that more than half had agreed to be deported to their countries of origin.

National Science Foundation Fires 168 Workers on Trump’s Order The cuts at the foundation, which supports cutting-edge research, came as the nation’s health and science agencies were reeling from other significant cuts.

Trump May Name Alice Johnson to Be ‘Pardon Czar’ Alice Marie Johnson was serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug conviction when the president commuted her sentence in 2018. Since then, she has become a criminal justice reform activist.

FDA’s Food Safety Chief Resigns The chief said the loss of critical employees overseeing the nation’s food supply made his work impossible. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s new health secretary, has pledged to gut the division.

Kennedy Says ‘Nothing’ Off Limits in Scrutinizing Chronic Disease Robert F. Kennedy Jr., laying out his early health agenda, said he would examine childhood vaccines, psychiatric drugs and other “formerly taboo” topics in investigating the causes of chronic disease.

Who Runs Elon Musk’s DOGE? Not Musk, the White House Says. A White House official declared that Mr. Musk was not the administrator of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. So who is?

Hundreds of Artists Call on N.E.A. to Roll Back Trump’s Restrictions A letter signed by 463 playwrights, poets, dancers, visual artists and others pushes back against new grant requirements that bar the promotion of diversity or “gender ideology.”

Federal Prosecutor Responsible for Overseeing Major Criminal Cases Resigns The prosecutor, Denise Cheung, did not say what precipitated her decision in an email to colleagues, but she thanked them for adhering to the highest standards of professional conduct.

Under Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan, Some Migrants Are Being Sent to Panama The administration has asked Panama to take in hundreds of people who can’t easily be sent back to their countries. Many say they are in danger.