Friday Wrap Up
Keeping you up to date on pressing news from April 30 – May 2.
Welcome back to Ghost Reader – a publication to help you stay informed when you don’t have the time, access or energy to keep pace with today’s news cycle.
Here’s what you can look forward to this edition:
Federal Government Operations: Context on how and why Mike Waltz – former White House national security advisor – was the first key Trump official removed this term. We’ll also preview President Trump’s budget proposal to Congress.
Executive Orders & Legislative Impacts: A variety of topics including a judicial ruling on mass deportations, an executive order to eliminate federal funding to NPR and PBS, and the end of an often-used tax loophole.
High-Impact Events: This week’s report that showed the economy shrunk in the first quarter.
Human Experience & Rights: An overview of this week’s jobs report and how U.S. press freedom has reached a historic low.
Good for the Soul: The quest to save the axolotl. Don’t know what that is? We’ll tell you.
Let’s get into it.
Federal Government Operations
I heard Mike Waltz is out
Thursday, news broke that Mike Waltz, the White House national security advisor, was removed from his role and nominated for the UN ambassador role.
What should I know?
Why it happened: On the surface, it’s linked to Waltz mistakenly including Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in a Signal chat with other top Trump officials where sensitive details about a missile strike in Yemen were discussed last month. While administration officials publicly claimed no classified details were discussed in the chat, behind the scenes, security experts and lawmakers said Waltz’s mistake sparked massive concerns about how administration officials share and store secure information.
Why else it might have happened: While only speculation, many reports suggest Waltz was not liked among other top Trump officials. Additionally, in many ways, “Signalgate” was one of the few times President Trump wasn’t able to control the news cycle since returning to office. Between the legitimate issue of Waltz’s mistake with the Signal chat and behind-the-scenes rumors about his lack of popularity among other officials, it appears Waltz is the first key Trump official “fired” this term.
Who’s taking over the role: Secretary of State Marco Rubio will replace Waltz on an interim basis while keeping his current job(s). In addition to Secretary of State, Rubio is also the acting administrator for the diminished U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID) and acting archivist of the National Archives and Records Administration.
Some relevant facts: Waltz was Trump’s fifth national security advisor in just over four years as president. And with Rubio serving as interim national security advisor, it marks the first time in more than 50 years that one person has held both positions of secretary of state and national security advisor.
Talk to me about Trump’s budget proposal
Friday, President Trump proposed a $163 billion cut to the federal budget that would significantly reduce spending in areas such as education and housing, while increasing spending on defense and border security for the next fiscal year.
What should I know?
The general sentiment: The proposal highlights Trump administration priorities and aims to deliver on promises to boost spending on border security and immigration while reducing what he calls the “federal bureaucracy.”
Some context: Presidents often release “skinny budgets” – outlines of administration priorities Congress uses as blueprints to craft spending bills. While it’s Congress’ job to appropriate money, the president is required to create a budget proposal each year. The proposal is not binding – it’s more of a list of the president’s policy priorities. Congress doesn’t have to do what the president wants, but does take the proposal into consideration while crafting the overall budget legislation.
The specifics: Below are some details from the president’s proposal.
It would raise homeland security spending by nearly 65% from 2025 levels.
Non-defense discretionary spending would be cut by 23% to the lowest level since 2017.
It calls for a $50 billion cut at the State Department.
It calls for a $2.5 billion cut to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
It would slash about 15% of the Department of Education, but suggests preserving funding for children from low-income families.
Funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would be cut almost in half.
It calls for an additional $500 million in discretionary spending to bolster border security and aid mass deportation efforts, as well as $766 million to procure border security technology funding and Customs and Border Protection staffing.
What comes next: Congress will consider the proposal as it works to write the overall budget legislation. Trump is also pushing Congress to extend his 2017 tax cuts, which many nonpartisan forecasters believe could add $5 trillion to the nation’s debt. Republicans in Congress hope to enact a tax cut bill by July 4.
Executive Orders & Legislative Impacts
Catch me up on the most recent Alien Enemies Act ruling
Thursday, a federal judge in Texas ruled that President Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to detain and deport Venezuelan migrants believed to be members of the Tren de Aragua gang is unlawful.
What should I know?
About the ruling: U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. – a Trump appointee – wrote that Trump’s use of the act “exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms.” The judge’s decision covers all of the Southern District of Texas, which includes Brownsville, McAllen, and Houston.
What it means: Essentially, that the Trump administration drastically misinterpreted the intent of the Alien Enemies Act. It also means the men detained at El Valle Detention Center in Raymondville, Texas cannot be removed under the act.
How the judge got there: Judge Rodriguez conducted an extensive analysis of historical records related to the act and concluded the meaning of “invasion” and “predatory inclusion” when the Alien Enemies Act was historically enacted required a military incursion. He found the criminal activities of Tren de Aragua members described in Trump’s invocation did not constitute an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” as understood by the act.
Why this matters: While other courts have sought to block the Trump administration from deporting people under the act, this is the first time a judge has ruled the act cannot be used against people who are alleged gang members in the U.S.
Let’s talk about the EO to cut NPR and PBS federal funding
Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board of directors to “cease federal funding for NPR and PBS.”
What should I know?
About NPR and PBS: They’re the nation’s primary public broadcasters. PBS offers a large amount of educational content, while NPR focuses more on news and music. Both provide local content and reach more than 99% of the population at no cost. In many states and communities, the stations serve as a key component of emergency and disaster response systems.
Why funding is being cut: Generally, because Trump says NPR and PBS news coverage has a left-wing bias. The EO follows a House oversight committee hearing in March where the leaders of NPR and PBS testified on allegations by the Trump administration about “ideological bias” in their broadcasting.
How the funding works: Federal funding for NPR and PBS is appropriated by Congress. It flows through the congressionally chartered Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). This fiscal year, Congress allocated $535 million for the CPB.
How much funding they currently receive: NPR receives about 1% of its funding directly from the federal government; and its 246 member institutions – operating more than 1,300 stations – receive about 8 – 10% of their funds from CPB. PBS and its stations receive about 15% of their revenues from CPB’s federal funds.
Where the funding goes: Most federal funds for public media go to local stations and/or to subsidize television, which is more expensive than radio.
Why this matters: While government money accounts for a small portion of the budgets at NPR and PBS, majority of that funding goes to local stations, which heavily rely on it to finance their newsrooms and pay for programming.
Explain the “de minimis” exemption (no more)
Beginning today, the Trump administration is getting rid of a nearly century-old tax loophole that saved companies from paying billions of dollars in fees on cheap imports – most of which come from China.
What should I know?
What it is: Called the “de minimis” exemption, it allows goods valued under a certain threshold to enter a country without paying import duties or taxes. For the U.S., the “de minimus” threshold was $800 per person, per day.
Why it’s being eliminated: As part of President Trump’s broader trade and tariff strategy to boost domestic production.
Some context: In February, Trump initially did away with the “de minimis” exemption but the move overwhelmed U.S. Customs and Border Protection workers, prompting the U.S. Postal Service to briefly suspend inbound shipments from China and Hong Kong. Due to that, the administration reinstated the exemption to allow the Commerce Department time to develop a way to collect the taxes. Now, the agency says it has “adequate systems” to collect tariff revenue on these low-value goods.
The details: Imports that previously qualified for the exemption will now face a duty of either 30% of their value or $25 per item. The price doubles to $50 per item after June 1.
Who will be impacted: E-commerce sites like Shein and Temu that thrived off this loophole, allowing them to avoid paying billions of dollars in duties on their inexpensive merchandise shipped into the U.S. The exemption also historically helped boost margins for small to medium-sized businesses, with many having about 30% of their revenue in retail, with the other 70% leveraging “de minimis.”
How they might adjust: In a statement Friday, Temu said it’s moving to a “local fulfillment model,” with U.S. orders handled by U.S. sellers. Majority of their products now also have a green “local” sticker, indicating they are located in the U.S. at time of purchase. Shein said it will start making price adjustments, with its website displaying a message to consumers that all tariff costs are included in the price they pay.
An important caveat: As of this week’s executive order, only items originating from China are prohibited from using the “de minimis” exemption.
High-Impact Events
I heard the economy didn’t have a great Q1
In a report released this week, the U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years.
What should I know?
The numbers: The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3% annual pace from January through March. This drop in gross domestic production (the nation’s output of goods and services) reversed a 2.4% gain in the final quarter of 2024. Also in the report, imports grew at a 41% pace – the fastest since 2020 – and consumer spending slowed sharply to a 1.8% growth, down from 4% in October – December of last year. Federal government spending also fell by 5.1% in the first quarter.
The report’s timing: It captured activity before President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcement that brought broad duties on most imports from U.S. trade partners.
How the White House responded: The Trump administration struggled to align on a unified message about the GDP number. Trump blamed former President Joe Biden for the weak GDP, saying any current economic data is his fault.
The impact: Economists said the reports will likely encourage the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged next week, which has been a common theme as the Fed takes a “wait and see” approach to Trump’s economic policies and their – thus far – tumultuous impacts.
Human Experience & Rights
Catch me up on the (un)employment landscape
Friday, the Department of Labor released its monthly jobs report showing the U.S. economy added 177,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate held at 4.2%.
What should I know?
The broader context: The April figures are slightly down from the 185,000 jobs added in March but still stronger than many economists expected.
About a separate report on layoffs: According to a recent report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, April saw 105,441 reported layoffs from U.S.-based employers, marking a significant decrease from March figures but an increase of more than 60% from this time last year. The report found the government saw the most cuts of any sector, with the so-called ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) responsible for nearly half of all layoffs to date this year. So far, there have been 602,493 layoffs in 2025 – this is an 87% increase from the same period last year and marks the highest year-to-date total since 2020.
Talk to me about freedom of the press
According to the latest World Press Freedom Index published this week by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), press freedom in the U.S. has reached a historic low.
What should I know?
About the World Press Freedom Index: It’s an annual assessment by Reporters Without Borders that evaluates the level of media freedom in 180 countries and territories. It uses quantitative and qualitative data to determine a country’s score, with higher scores indicating a worse situation for press freedom. It considers factors like political context, legal frameworks, economic conditions, and safety for journalists.
What the most recent report said about the U.S.: Historically, American press freedom was generally considered “satisfactory” by RSF standards. As of the recent report, it’s now “problematic” and falls in line with developing countries like Gambia and Uruguay.
What’s driving the results: While physical threats against journalists are often a clear sign of eroding press freedoms, Reporters Without Borders cites economic strains on the media as the largest driver of declines globally. They found economic strain is increasingly tied to government efforts to financially undermine independent or critical outlets. For the U.S., specifically, Reporters Without Borders cited the Trump administration’s efforts to cut funding to public broadcasters.
What else contributed: Non-governmental factors that threaten journalistic funding, such as the dominance of major internet platforms over advertising. RPF reports such constraints led to record consolidation globally amongst media outlets, which resulted in more media ownership highly concentrated or controlled by the state.
Putting it into perspective: In the report released this week, the economic indicator worldwide reached a new low, with 160 of 180 nations surveyed experiencing “difficult” or “no” financial stability. Additionally, the report found more than half the world’s population now lives in countries where press freedom is entirely absent and/or practicing journalism is considered dangerous.
Good for the Soul
Phew - today’s newsletter was a downer. Let’s end a little lighter with this curious-looking but very adorable animal. In this section, we’ll learn what an axolotl is, the dangers the species faces, and about a recent study that found some clues on how to protect this endangered amphibian beloved by many.
What should I know?
What an ‘axolotl’ is: A salamander closely related to the tiger salamander. It’s unusual among amphibians in that it reaches adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis – meaning, instead of taking to land adults remain aquatic and gilled.
About the animal’s popularity: With their smiley faces, quirky look, and crown-like gills, axolotls have become popular worldwide, appearing as stuffed animals, in cartoons, and in the video game “Minecraft.”
About the animal’s significance: More seriously, the animal holds significance in both modern medicine and Aztec mythology. It’s associated with Xolotl, the Aztec god of fire and lighting, who is said to have turned into an axolotl when trying to escape death. In terms of medicine, axolotls’ ability to regrow organs has made them the subject of much medical research.
These cute animals face several challenges: Axolotls are listed as critically endangered and, like many other amphibians, face habitat loss.
A potential solution: The creatures’ only remaining natural habitat is Lake Xochimilco in Mexico. In a study published Wednesday in the scientific journal PLOS One, researchers found captive-bred axolotls released into the lake survived – this means scientists could help the species resurge in the wild. The researchers also found axolotls introduced to a man-made pond survived, which could highlight the potential of artificial wetlands for conservation efforts.
What else the study found: That axolotls want space to roam and socialize – and that they seemed to find “best friends.” They also found that when given a larger area to live, axolotls traveled much more – making an argument against keeping them in tanks as pets, which some currently do.
What comes next: The researchers determined further study should occur on if axolotls can be trained to avoid predators. If they can, it would be another step toward broader conservation and protection efforts for the animals that would eventually include releasing them into the wild based on the research.
So while not the most “newsworthy,” let’s hope the image of that smiling axolotl’s face can also bring smiles to our own faces as we head into the weekend.
That’s all for this week. Until Monday, let’s keep working to create clarity in the chaos.
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