Monday, May 10

· Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that the United States reversed a policy of former President Donald Trump’s by restoring healthcare protections against sexual discrimination under a provision of the Affordable Care Act.

· State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. welcomed the announcement that the Taliban would hold a three-day ceasefire in Afghanistan to mark the holiday Eid al-Fitr, which takes place at the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. “We urge the Taliban to extend this ceasefire and order a significant reduction in violence,” Price continued.

· The FBI confirmed the cyberextortion attempt that forced the shutdown of an East Coast pipeline that delivers roughly 45% of the fuel consumed in the region was carried out by a criminal organization called DarkSide. The group develops ransomware and targets corporations, claiming to give a cut of its take to charity.

· The Pentagon said a Coast Guard ship fired about 30 warning shots when 13 vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy approached it along with six other U.S. vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian government denies it came within close proximity to the vessels.

· The Treasury Department began to allow access to its $350 billion pool of COVID-19 aid to state, local, tribal and territorial governments, also providing rules for allowable uses and prohibiting states from using the funds for tax cuts.

Tuesday, May 11

· The Associated Press obtained and reported on confidential data showing that President Joe Biden’s administration is holding about 21,000 asylum-seeking children — from toddlers to teens — in about 200 facilities across two dozen states. Five of these shelters have over 1,000 children inside. One in an army base in El Paso, Texas, has over 4,500 children.

· A court filing showed the House Judiciary Committee and the Biden administration struck an agreement in principle to resolve a two-year-old fight over a subpoena for Don McGahn, a former White House counsel to Trump, to testify in an investigation into alleged obstruction of justice by Trump.

· Biden announced new efforts to encourage Americans to get COVID-19 vaccinations to achieve the federal government’s goal of reopening the country by July 4 with at least 70% of the country vaccinated. These include a partnership with ride services Uber and Lyft to offer free rides to and from vaccination clinics and the opening of clinics at community colleges.

· The Treasury Department sanctioned seven Lebanese people connected to Hezbollah, a militant Lebanese Shia Islamist political party, and its bankers for illegally avoiding sanctions and transferring $500 million on Hezbollah’s behalf.

· The Biden administration announced final federal approval of an offshore wind energy project called Vineyard Wind, located south of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. It is the first utility-scale wind power development in federal waters, costing about $3 billion, and could generate enough energy to power 400,000 homes.

· The Labor Department released figures that showed U.S. employers posted a record number of available jobs in March, indicating businesses’ desperation to find new workers as the country reopens.

· A federal judge ruled the National Rifle Association cannot use bankruptcy as an excuse to reorganize and re-incorporate the once-powerful group in Texas as it faces an effort to dissolve it in New York.

Wednesday, May 12

· Republicans in the House voted to remove Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) from her role as House Republican Conference chair, the third-highest ranking position in the Republican House leadership. The removal was related to her continued condemnation of Trump’s election disinformation campaign, with public statements as recent as this month denouncing the idea that the 2020 election was stolen or in any way fraudulent.

· Data from Customs and Border Protection showed migrants arriving at the southern border with Mexico rose slightly in April — 178,622 migrants, or a 3% increase from March.

· In response to Israel’s escalating violence against Palestine, Biden said “Israel has a right to defend itself.” The U.S. provides Israel with $3.8 billion in military aid annually. Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed at least 200 Palestinians including 58 children and wounded more than 1,000 by Sunday. The Israeli army fired over 1,500 rockets toward Gaza in retaliation for Hamas firing homemade rockets toward Israel, which were sent in response to an Israeli crackdown on Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.

· The Treasury Department’s monthly budget report revealed that the U.S.’s budget deficit surged to a record $1.9 trillion for the first seven months of the budget year, due in part to coronavirus relief packages.

· Daniel Nadel, the director of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, said the Chinese government has turned its western region of Xinjiang into an “open-air prison” for Uighur Muslims.

Thursday, May 13

· Biden said the White House has “strong reason to believe” that the cyberattack that shut down the U.S.’s largest gasoline pipeline originated in Russia, although he added that the Russian government was likely not involved.

· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased indoor and outdoor mask-wearing guidelines for fully vaccinated people allowing them to go mask-free in most places. “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activity, large or small, without worrying about physical distancing,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.

· The Washington, D.C., police said a gang known as the Babuk group released thousands of sensitive documents from the department after police refused to meet blackmail demands in what is said to be the worst known ransomware attack to hit a U.S. police department.

Friday, May 14

· The Environmental Protection Agency issued an order, using emergency powers, shutting down for 60 days an oil refinery on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, that had experienced several recent accidents that contaminated drinking water.

· The House Homeland Security Committee reached an agreement on a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection on the Capitol, which would be modeled on the investigative panel used to probe the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

· Biden cancelled Trump’s planned “National Garden of American Heroes” monument, which was to have featured sculptures of American historical figures in “a vast outdoor park,” according to Trump.

· Biden revoked Trump’s May 2020 executive order calling for the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to investigate social media companies for labeling or removing posts and accounts in what Trump purported was a restriction on free speech.

· Biden revoked a Trump order blocking potential immigrants deemed to be a “financial burden” on the nation’s healthcare system from coming to the U.S.

· House Republicans chose Elise Stafanik (R.-N.Y.) to replace Liz Cheney as House Republican Conference chair, with Trump’s blessing.

Saturday, May 15

· Biden reiterated his support for Israel in conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but expressed concern for civilian casualties and targeting of media outlets in Israel’s rocket campaign against Palestinians, which wiped out the offices that housed al Jazeera and the Associated Press.

· Famously pro-Israel Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) condemned Israel’s strikes against Palestine in a statement in which he said he was “deeply troubled by reports of Israeli military actions that resulted in the death of innocent civilians in Gaza” and urged the Israeli government to give advance warning of attacks to limit “harm to the innocent.”

Sunday, May 16

· The U.S. blocked a joint United Nations Security Council statement calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and condemning Israel’s disproportionate military response to Hamas’ aggression.