Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Thursday.
Trump removed his top national security aide in major shake-upPresident Trump announced today that he would remove his national security adviser, Michael Waltz, from his White House role and nominate him as ambassador to the United Nations. Trump tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Waltz’s interim replacement; he will remain as the nation’s top diplomat. It was the first significant overhaul of Trump’s West Wing staff since he returned to office — the kind of change he had sought to avoid in an effort to minimize the headlines about chaos that engulfed his first term. Rubio will now be the first person since Henry Kissinger to lead both the State Department and the National Security Council. My colleagues Maggie Haberman, David Sanger and Jonathan Swan explained what led to Waltz’s ouster. His position had become especially precarious after it became public that he organized a Signal group chat to discuss a sensitive military operation. But before that, he had been on thin ice for months. Most of Trump’s advisers viewed Waltz as too hawkish to work for the president, who campaigned as a skeptic of American intervention and as eager to reach a nuclear deal with Iran and normalize relations with Russia. Waltz’s deputy, Alex Wong, who is considered a more moderate Republican and who has substantial national security experience, is also expected to be removed.
A judge struck down Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies ActA federal judge ruled today that the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans it deemed to be criminals was illegal. The judge, Fernando Rodriguez Jr., permanently barred the administration from invoking the 18th-century wartime law in his Texas district. The decision by Judge Rodriguez, a Trump appointee, was the most expansive ruling yet on Trump’s use of the act. The judge said that the White House had improperly stretched the meaning of the law, which was designed for use during a military invasion. In related news, a six-day immigration sweep in Florida in April resulted in the arrests of more than 1,100 people.
A foreign crypto deal could generate millions for TrumpZach Witkoff, who helped create Trump’s cryptocurrency business, said today that a state-backed Emirati firm would be making a $2 billion deal using the Trump family’s digital coins. It was a monumental announcement: The deal could generate hundreds of millions for the Trump family. The announcement illustrated the ethical conflicts swirling around Trump’s crypto firm. In two weeks, the president plans to visit the U.A.E. during his first major trip abroad.
Scientists are investigating metformin’s anti-aging abilitiesSome doctors have prescribed the drug metformin, which is known to lower blood sugar, as a longevity solution. The idea, advanced by anti-aging influencers, is that the drug can head off a number of chronic diseases before they develop. So far, there is no strong evidence that metformin can slow the aging process. But some scientists have found potential indications that it could delay conditions like cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia. More top news
Broadway is celebrating an unusually starry seasonThe Tony Award nominations are here. And even if you’re not a regular theatergoer, you will probably recognize many of the names: George Clooney, Mia Farrow, Sarah Snook, Bob Odenkirk and Sadie Sink all received nominations. (Other famous faces, like Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, did not.) In a particularly robust season for musicals, three tied for the most nominations, with 10 each: “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Death Becomes Her” and “Maybe Happy Ending.” Audra McDonald, who has already won a record six Tony Awards, picked up her 11th nomination for her role in “Gypsy,” making her the most-nominated performer ever. The winners will be announced on June 8. Check out all of this year’s nominations, and seethe biggest snubs and surprises.
How John Singer Sargent found his footingThe painter John Singer Sargent is often identified as an American, but he belonged to no single country. His expat parents moved around Europe with the seasons, and he spent a particularly formative decade in Paris, where his portraits and travel-inspired works helped solidify his reputation. His paintings from that era are featured in a new exhibition at the Met. The show culminates with the famously controversial, undoubtedly arresting portrait “Madame X.”
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