Trump Ordered the Shutdown of the Education Department

President Trump today signed an executive order to begin dismantling the Education Department. The president, flanked by children at school desks, said that his administration would “take all lawful steps to shut down the department,” adding: “It’s doing us no good.” The administration has cited poor test scores as a justification.

Whether the department’s elimination will come to pass is unclear. Congress created the agency, and only Congress has the power to dismantle it.

The order further weakens the agency after Trump slashed its work force by almost half, gutted its civil rights division and laid off research employees. Though, the department will retain a few critical functions, including student loan and grant distribution, special education funding and civil rights enforcement, the administration said.

Education leaders and advocacy groups have condemned the move. “This is a dark day for the millions of American children who depend on federal funding for a quality education,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the N.A.A.C.P.

Trump has framed the agency’s demise as a way to hand over education decisions to the states, but the Education Department doesn’t control local learning standards or reading lists. And the bulk of K-12 funding comes from state and local taxes.

In his speech today, Trump suggested he might push Congress for a vote on the issue, where Republicans could be faced with a predicament: please Trump or their constituents. Recent polls show that nearly two-thirds of voters oppose the department’s closure.

In other education news, academics said that Trump’s ultimatum to Columbia was unparalleled, and could upend colleges nationwide.

Judge sharply criticized Trump administration lawyers

A federal judge in Washington ordered the Trump administration to explain its actions last weekend, when U.S. officials expelled scores of Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador, despite his restraining order blocking the deportations. He gave officials until Tuesday to describe in detail how they had not violated his order, edging closer to holding the administration in contempt.

The judge, James Boasberg, angrily called out the administration’s repeated efforts to stonewall his attempts to get information about the timing of the flights. “The government again evaded its obligations,” he wrote, adding that the Justice Department’s most recent filing about the flights was “woefully insufficient.”

Hamas targeted Tel Aviv with rockets

Hamas fired its first barrage of rockets in months into Israeli territory today, as Israeli troops expanded their ground raids in Gaza. After a two-month cease-fire, it now looks as if the fighting is escalating back to full-scale war.

Our Jerusalem bureau chief, Patrick Kingsley, told us that the cease-fire was always likely to fall apart unless one side softened its stance. “Neither did,” Patrick said. “So Israel has returned to war in order to break Hamas’s resolve by force. And that leaves things roughly where they were before the cease-fire began in January: in a deadlock.”

In related news, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was expected to fire the chief of the country’s domestic intelligence agency.

Finding lifesaving cures in plain sight with A.I.

The practice of drug repurposing — finding alternative uses for existing medicines — is nothing new. But now A.I. models are speeding up the process: Drugs are quickly being repurposed for conditions like rare and aggressive cancers, and complex neurological conditions. And often, they’re working.

It’s time for a little madness

This year’s N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament — affectionately called March Madness — started today. For sports fans, it’s the beginning of five of the most exciting days of the year, during which the men’s and women’s tournaments both showcase 48 elimination games to narrow their fields of 64 teams to just 16 contenders each.

There was already one exciting upset, when No. 12-seed McNeese took down No. 5-seed Clemson. And there are several more can’t-miss games on the schedule.

For more: Here’s what to expect from the women’s tournament, which begins tomorrow.

Snow White and the seven kajillion controversies

Disney, who had been printing money by “reimagining” animated classics, believed that a live-action remake of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” would be a hit. Instead, the new movie arrives in theaters this week as one of the most troubled projects in the company’s 102-year history.

Jury duty, but make it fun

In 1887, The Times described jury duty as “a disagreeable burden to be avoided so far as possible.” For many people, that still rings true. But in several theaters and office buildings around the world people are paying $50 or more to take part.

The cases aren’t real. Several immersive theater productions are repackaging the civic responsibility as entertainment — complete with drinks and cellphones. The experiences offer fans of true crime a taste of what it’s like to decide someone’s guilt or innocence.

Have a judicious evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. Matthew will return on Monday. — Desiree

Philip Pacheco was our photo editor today.

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com.