President Donald Trump's first 100 days: Latest updates

Trump suggests to Zelenskyy that the U.S. should take ownership of Ukrainian power plants for security

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that they had a constructive call about moving toward a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, with the White House suggesting the U.S. could take control of Ukrainian power plants to ensure their security.

Trump told Zelenskyy that the U.S could be “very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise," according to a White House statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz that described the call as “fantastic.”

Trump added that “American ownership of those plants could be the best protection for that infrastructure.”

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Trump threatens Houthi rebels that they'll be 'completely annihilated' as airstrikes pound Yemen

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday that they'll be “completely annihilated” as American airstrikes pounded locations under their control, while further pressuring the group's main benefactor Iran.

Strikes hit Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-held capital, as well as their stronghold of Saada in the country's northwest on Wednesday night, the Houthi's al-Maisrah satellite news channel reported.

It also said strikes happened overnight Tuesday, though the U.S. military has not offered a breakdown of places targeted since the airstrikes campaign began. The first strikes this weekend killed at least 53 people, including children, and wounded others.

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Trump administration suspends $175 million in federal funding for Penn over transgender swimmer

The Trump administration has suspended approximately $175 million in federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania over the participation of a transgender athlete in its swimming program, the White House said Wednesday.

The Ivy League school has been facing an Education Department investigation focusing on in its swimming program. That inquiry was announced last month immediately after President Donald Trump signed an executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports.

But the federal money was suspended in a separate review of discretionary federal money going to universities, the White House said. The money that was paused came from the Defense Department and the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Trump and Zelenskyy speak a day after Trump's call with Putin

President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke for about an hour Wednesday morning a day after Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a social media post, Trump said the call was to “align both Russia and Ukraine in terms of their requests and needs” as he seeks to bring about a ceasefire between the two countries.

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Trump administration threatens to pull New York transit funds as it questions anti-crime efforts

The Trump administration is threatening to pull federal funding to New York City’s transit system if it doesn’t provide a plan to address crime and fare evasion.

While New York transit officials point to publicly available statistics showing major crime on the subway system is trending down this year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted “a number of high-profile safety related incidents" in a letter sent Tuesday to the head of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

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U.S. Institute of Peace board sues after firings and DOGE staff accesses headquarters

The U.S. Institute of Peace and many of its board members have sued the Trump administration, seeking to prevent their removal and stop Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from taking over and accessing the building and systems of the independent nonprofit.

The lawsuit filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Washington describes the lengths that institute staff resorted to, including calling the police, in an effort to prevent DOGE representatives and others working with the Trump administration from accessing the headquarters near the State Department.

An executive order last month from Republican President Donald Trump targeted the institute and three other agencies for large-scale reductions. The think tank, which seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, was created and funded by Congress in 1984. Board members are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate.

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CBS' '60 Minutes' is unflinching in its White House coverage in the shadow of Trump's $20B lawsuit

NEW YORK — As CBS corporate leaders ponder settling President Donald Trump's $20 billion lawsuit against the network's “60 Minutes,” America's storied newsmagazine has produced some fast and hard-hitting stories critical of the new administration in every episode since Trump was inaugurated.

The latest was Sunday, when CBS News helped pay for a performance featuring non-white middle and high school musicians who had won a contest and with it, the right to play with the U.S. Marine Corps Band. The original concert, however, was canceled because of Trump's executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Correspondent Scott Pelley narrated six of the show's seven stories since Trump's inauguration, including Sunday's. He examined the administration’s policies toward Ukraine and tariffs, looked at changes in the Justice Department and reported on firings of government watchdogs. Shortly after his piece on the dismantling of USAID, Elon Musk suggested “long prison sentences” for those working on the show.

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Violent attacks on Tesla dealerships spike as Musk takes prominent role in Trump White House

SEATTLE — Cybertrucks set ablaze. Bullets and Molotov cocktails aimed at Tesla showrooms.

Attacks on property carrying the logo of Elon Musk's electric-car company are cropping up across the U.S. and overseas. While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.

There's been a clear uptick since President Donald Trump took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that's slashing government spending. Experts on domestic extremism say it's impossible to know yet if the spate of incidents will balloon into a long-term pattern.

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Fishermen want to go green but say DOGE cuts prevent that

BREMEN, Maine — Commercial fishermen and seafood processors and distributors looking to switch to new, lower-carbon emission systems say the federal funding they relied on for this work is either frozen or unavailable due to significant budget cuts promoted by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The changes are designed to replace old diesel-burning engines and outdated at-sea cooling systems and are touted by environmentalists as a way to reduce seafood's carbon footprint. Salmon harvesters in Washington state, scallop distributors in Maine and halibut fishermen in Alaska are among those who told The Associated Press their federal commitments for projects like new boat engines and refrigeration systems have been rescinded or are under review.

“The uncertainty. This is not a business-friendly environment,” said Togue Brawn, a Maine seafood distributor who said she is out tens of thousands of dollars. “If they want to make America great again, then honor your word and tell people what's going on."

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Judge blocks Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in 'green bank' grants

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration, saying the government's “vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient.”

The order by U.S. District Judge Tonya Chutkan prevents — for now — the Environmental Protection Agency from ending the grant program, which totaled $20 billion. The judge also blocked Citibank, which holds the money on behalf of EPA, from transferring it to the government or anyone else.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin accused the grant recipients of mismanagement, fraud and self-dealing and froze the grants. But after reviewing arguments in the case, Chutkan said Zeldin's allegations fell short.

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Roberts rejects Trump's call for impeaching judge who ruled against his deportation plans

In an extraordinary display of conflict between the executive and judiciary branches, Chief Justice John Roberts rejected calls for impeaching judges Tuesday, shortly after President Donald Trump demanded the removal of one who ruled against his deportation plans.

The rebuke from the Supreme Court's leader demonstrated how the controversy over recent deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members has inflamed tensions over the judiciary's role, with a legal case challenging Trump's actions now threatening to spiral into a clash of constitutional powers.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”

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Vance to serve as RNC's finance chair in sign of his growing influence

Vice President JD Vance has been tapped to serve as a top fundraiser at the Republican National Committee in another sign that he is cementing his status as the torchbearer of President Donald Trump 's “Make America Great Again” movement.

It is the first time in the RNC's history that a sitting vice president has held the position of finance chair, giving Vance a prominent, direct role in next year's midterm elections and helping him build ties with top Republican donors. Vance headlined numerous fundraisers during the 2024 campaign, making the job an extension of those efforts.

In a statement, Vance said that, “to fully enact the MAGA mandate and President Trump’s vision that voters demanded, we must keep and grow our Republican majorities in 2026." He will focus, he said, on building "the war chest we need to deliver those victories next November.”

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Trump and Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire for energy and infrastructure in Ukraine war

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a lengthy call Tuesday to an immediate pause in strikes against energy and infrastructure targets in the Ukraine war, but the Russian leader stopped short of backing a broader 30-day pause in fighting that the U.S. administration is pressing for.

The White House described it as the first step in a “movement to peace” it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting.

The White House added negotiations would “begin immediately” in the Middle East on those steps. Shortly after the call between Trump and Putin, air raid alerts sounded in Kyiv, followed by explosions in the city. Local officials urged people to seek shelter.

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Trump's cuts to VOA may be welcomed by China's government

BEIJING — The recent move by U.S. President Donald Trump to make cuts at Voice of America and other U.S. government-run media may be welcome news for China's ruling Communist Party.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson refrained from commenting on Trump's decision Tuesday but took the opportunity to criticize the outlets.

“I do not comment on U.S. domestic policy changes,” Mao Ning said when asked about it. “But as for the media you mentioned, their bad records in reporting on China are not a secret.”

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Trump calls for impeaching the federal judge who ruled against his deportations

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a federal judge who tried to stop his deportation plans should be impeached, escalating his conflict with a judiciary that's been one of the few restraints on his administration's aggressive plans.

Trump has routinely criticized judges, especially as they limit his efforts to expand presidential power and impose his sweeping agenda on the federal government. But his call for impeachment — a rare step that is usually taken only in cases of grave ethical or criminal misconduct — represents an intensifying clash between the judicial and executive branches.

The Republican president described U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg in Washington, as an unelected “troublemaker and agitator” in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform. Boasberg recently issued an order blocking deportation flights under wartime authorities from an 18th century law that Trump invoked to carry out his plans.

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Trump and Putin will hold call on ceasefire, but Zelenskyy is skeptical Russia is ready for peace

President Donald Trump is to hold talks on Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he looks to get buy-in on a U.S. ceasefire proposal he hopes can create a pathway to ending Russia’s devastating war on Ukraine.

The White House is optimistic that peace is within reach even as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remains skeptical that Putin is doing much beyond paying lip service to Trump as Russian forces continue to pound his country.

The engagement is just the latest turn in dramatically shifting U.S.-Russia relations as Trump made quickly ending the conflict a top priority — even at the expense of straining ties with longtime American allies who want Putin to pay a price for the invasion.

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Trump says his administration is set to release JFK files with no redactions

President Donald Trump says files related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy will be released Tuesday without any redactions, making good on a promise he made during his campaign.

Trump told reporters Monday that his administration will be releasing 80,000 files, though it’s not clear how many of those are among the millions of pages of records that have already been made public.

“We have a tremendous amount of paper. You’ve got a lot of reading,” Trump said while at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

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Trump hangs a copy of Declaration of Independence in Oval Office

President Donald Trump has hung a copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office, according to images he shared on social media.

The Republican president's official account on X showed two images Monday of a framed copy of the historical document hanging on the wall not far from the president's desk.

In one image, Trump is moving aside heavy dark blue curtains hung around the document to look underneath.

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US Institute of Peace says DOGE has broken into its building

Employees of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have entered the U.S. Institute of Peace despite protests from the nonprofit that it is not part of the executive branch and is instead an independent agency.

The organization's CEO, George Moose, said, “DOGE has broken into our building.” Police cars were outside the Washington building Monday evening.

The DOGE workers gained access to the building after several unsuccessful attempts Monday and after having been turned away on Friday, a senior U.S. Institute of Peace official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

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Gabbard says Trump and Putin are 'very good friends' focused on strengthening ties

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “are very good friends” who are focused on ways to strengthen the bonds between the United States and Russia.

The two presidents plan to speak Tuesday about the war in Ukraine.

Gabbard said ties between Russia and the U.S. go “very far back” and that Trump is committed to expanding a relationship centered “around peace, prosperity, freedom and security.”

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Trump administration says South African ambassador has to leave the U.S. by Friday

WASHINGTON — The State Department says South Africa’s ambassador to the United States, who was declared “persona non grata” last week, has until Friday to leave the country.

After Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool was no longer welcome in the U.S. and posted his decision Friday on social media, South African embassy staff were summoned to the State Department and given a formal diplomatic note explaining the decision, department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

She said Rasool’s diplomatic privileges and immunities expired Monday and that he would be required to leave the United States by Friday.

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Trump warns Iran it will face 'consequences' of further attacks from Yemen's Houthi rebels

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday explicitly linked the actions of Yemen's Houthi rebels to the group's main benefactor, Iran, warning Tehran would “suffer the consequences” for further attacks by the group.

The comments by Trump on his Truth Social website escalate his administration's new campaign of airstrikes targeting the rebels, which killed at least 53 people this weekend alone and appear poised to continue. Meanwhile, Iran continues to weigh how to respond to a letter Trump sent them last week trying to jump-start negotiations over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Houthi supporters themselves rallied in several cities Monday after the strikes, vowing revenge against America and Israel over blocking aid to the Gaza Strip after its war on Hamas there. The Houthis' al-Masirah satellite news channel put young boys on air live, who chanted the group's slogan: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse the Jews; victory to Islam.”

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Trump visits the Kennedy Center as he puts his mark on the national arts institution

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday is visiting the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he is taking a tour and chairing a meeting of its board of directors.

It was his first time at the venerable institution since he began remaking it at the start of his second term in office. Trump fired the previous board of the Kennedy Center, writing on social media that they “do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture.” He replaced them with loyalists and installed himself as chairman.

The Republican president's allies have complained that the Kennedy Center, which is known for its annual celebration of notable American artists, had become too liberal and “woke” with its programming.

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ACLU asks judge to force the Trump administration to state under oath if it violated his court order

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed to halt deportations under a rarely-used 18th century wartime law invoked by President Donald Trump asked a federal judge Monday to force officials to explain under oath whether they violated his court order by removing more than 200 people from the country after it was issued and celebrating it on social media.

The motion marks another escalation in the battle over Trump's aggressive opening moves in his second term, several of which have been temporarily halted by judges. Trump's allies have raged over the holds and suggested he does not have to obey them, and some plaintiffs have said it appears the administration is flouting court orders.

On Saturday night, District Judge James E. Boasberg ordered the administration not to deport anyone in its custody over the newly-invoked Alien Enemies Act, which has only been used three times before in U.S. history, all during congressionally-declared wars. Trump issued a proclamation that the 1798 law was newly in effect due to what he claimed was an invasion by the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.

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Trump says he will talk to Putin on Tuesday as he pushes for end to Ukraine war

President Donald Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as he pushes to end the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. leader disclosed the upcoming conversation to reporters while flying from Florida to Washington on Air Force One on Sunday evening.

“We will see if we have something to announce maybe by Tuesday. I will be speaking to President Putin on Tuesday,” Trump said. "A lot of work's been done over the weekend. We want to see if we can bring that war to an end.”

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What to know about El Salvador's mega-prison after Trump sent hundreds of immigrants there

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — The crown jewel of El Salvador's aggressive anti-crime strategy — a mega-prison where visitation, recreation and education are not allowed — became the latest tool in U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration on Sunday, when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were transferred there.

The arrival of the immigrants, alleged by the U.S. to be members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, took place under an agreement for which the Trump administration will pay the government of President Nayib Bukele $6 million for one year of services.

Bukele has made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. In 2023, he opened the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where the immigrants were sent over the weekend despite a federal judge’s order temporarily barring their deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members.

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Trump and Putin will speak this week on Russia-Ukraine war, U.S. envoy says

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week as the U.S. tries to broker a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff.

It would be the second publicized call between the two leaders since Trump began his second term in January. Trump and Putin spoke in February and agreed to start high-level talks over ending the war in Ukraine.

“I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week,” Witkoff said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

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Trump administration ramps up rhetoric targeting the courts amid mounting legal setbacks

The new populist president railed against the judiciary as they blocked his aggressive moves to restructure his country’s government and economy.

This was in Mexico, where former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador eventually pushed through changes that required every judge in his country to be elected rather than appointed. The reforms, and the promise of more by his successor, caused markets to lose confidence in his country’s reliability as a place to invest, which led its currency to weaken.

It was one in a series of assaults that populists around the globe have launched on the courts in recent years, and legal observers now wonder if the United States could be next.

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Trump administration deports hundreds of migrants even as judge orders that removals be stopped

The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.

U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order Saturday blocking the deportations but lawyers told him there were already two planes with migrants in the air — one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.

“Oopsie…Too late,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, a Trump ally who agreed to house about 300 migrants for a year at a cost of $6 million in his country’s prisons, wrote on the social media site X above an article about Boasberg’s ruling. That post was recirculated by White House communications director Steven Cheung.

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Trump invokes 18th century law to speed deportations, judge stalls it hours later

A federal judge on Saturday barred the administration of President Donald Trump from deportations under an 18th century law that Trump invoked just hours earlier asserting the United States was being invaded by a Venezuelan gang and that he had new powers to remove its members from the country.

James E. Boasberg, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said he needed to issue his order immediately because the government was already flying migrants it claimed were newly deportable under Trump’s proclamation to El Salvador and Honduras to be incarcerated there.

“I do not believe I can wait any longer and am required to act,” he said during a Saturday evening hearing in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU and Democracy Forward. “A brief delay in their removal does not cause the government any harm,” Boasberg added, noting they remain in government custody.

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Trump orders strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and issues new warning to Iran

President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen's capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.

“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”

He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy.

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A judge limits Trump's ability to deport people under the 18th century Alien Enemies Act

A federal judge on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from using an 18th century law known as the Alien Enemies Act to deport five Venezuelans, kicking off a blizzard of litigation over the controversial move even before the president has announced it.

President Donald Trump has widely signaled he would invoke the 1798 Act, last used to justify the internment of Japanese-American civilians during World War 2.

On Saturday, the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward filed an extraordinary lawsuit in federal court in Washington contending the order would identify a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, as a “predatory incursion” by a foreign government and seek to deport any Venezuelan in the country as a member of that gang, regardless of the facts.

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Trump signs a bill funding the government for 6 months, avoiding a shutdown

President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation funding the government through the end of September, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown and capping off a struggle in Congress that deeply divided Democrats.

Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, said in a post on X that Trump signed the continuing resolution Saturday.

The bill largely keeps government funding at levels set during Joe Biden's presidency, though with changes. It trims non-defense spending by about $13 billion from the previous year and increases defense spending by about $6 billion, which are marginal changes when talking about a topline spending level of nearly $1.7 trillion.

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Trump signs order to cut staff at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded media organizations

President Donald Trump's administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America and other government-run, pro-democracy programming as the president continued his campaign to restructure government without congressional approval.

On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba.

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U.S. prepares to deport about 300 alleged gang members to El Salvador

President Donald Trump's administration will pay El Salvador $6 million to imprison for one year about 300 alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, in one of the first instances of the Central American country taking migrants from the United States.

The agreement follows discussions between El Salvador's President, Nayib Bukele, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio about housing migrants in El Salvador's notorious prison. Bukele's government has arrested more than 84,000 people, sometimes without due process, since 2022 as part of his crackdown on gang violence in the small country.

Memos detailing the transfer did not disclose how the Trump administration identified the roughly 300 people as members of Tren de Aragua, a gang Trump repeatedly highlighted in the campaign and declared to be a terrorist organization.

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Trump pledges to 'expose' his enemies in political speech at Justice Department

President Donald Trump pledged to “expose” his enemies during a norm-breaking political speech Friday at the Justice Department in which he aired a litany of grievances about the criminal cases he faced and vowed retribution for what he described as the “lies and abuses that have occurred within these walls.”

The speech was meant to rally support for Trump administration policies on violent crime, drugs and illegal immigration. But it also functioned as a triumphant forum for the president to boast about having emerged legally and politically unscathed from two federal prosecutions that one year ago had threatened to torpedo his presidential prospects but were dismissed after his election win last fall.

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Judges don't intervene after the Trump administration says it's stopped destroying USAID records

Federal judges in two separate lawsuits refused Friday to order the Trump administration to not destroy U.S. Agency for International Development records after it said it has disposed of only old or unneeded documents and is no longer destroying records anyway.

Both cases involve the destruction of classified documents as part of the building cleanout as President Donald Trump dismantles USAID, cutting off most federal money and terminating 83% of humanitarian and development programs abroad. All but a few hundred staffers are being pulled off the job and the agency’s Washington headquarters is being shut down.

In one case, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, refused to issue a temporary restraining order after finding that records slated for shredding or burning are old and no longer needed and don't appear to be related to the ongoing court battles over the near-dismantling of USAID.

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Some universities are freezing hiring as Trump threatens federal funding

Universities across the U.S. have announced hiring freezes, citing new financial uncertainty as the Trump administration threatens a range of cuts to federal contracts and research grants. Some have announced layoffs.

Johns Hopkins University said Thursday it is eliminating more than 2,200 workers because of a loss of funding from USAID. Some employees are in Baltimore but most work in 44 other countries in support of the university's Bloomberg School of Public Health, its medical school and an affiliated nonprofit organization.

In February, the Trump administration announced deep cuts to National Institutes of Health grants for research institutions, a shift that could reduce the money going to some universities by over $100 million. Some schools already have shelved projects because of the cuts, which have been delayed temporarily by a court challenge.

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Trump administration asks Supreme Court to partly allow birthright citizenship restrictions

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow restrictions on birthright citizenship to partly take effect while legal fights play out.

In emergency applications filed at the high court on Thursday, the administration asked the justices to narrow court orders entered by district judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington that blocked the order President Donald Trump signed shortly after beginning his second term.

The order currently is blocked nationwide. Three federal appeals courts have rejected the administration's pleas, including one in Massachusetts on Tuesday.

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Judge orders Trump to reinstate probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary workers let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Thursday found the firings didn’t follow federal law and required immediate offers of reinstatement be sent.

The agencies include the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury.

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When is the 100th day of the trump administration?

Trump administration withdraws nomination of Long Island native David Weldon for CDC director

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of Dr. David Weldon, a former Florida congressman and Long Island native, to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Senate health committee announced Thursday morning that it was canceling a planned hearing on Weldon's nomination because of the withdrawal.

A person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said the White House pulled the nomination because it became clear Weldon did not have the votes for confirmation.

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Attorney General Letitia James, 20 other attorneys general sue to stop DOE cuts

New York Attorney General Letitia James joined 20 other state attorneys general to sue the Trump administration on Thursday to stop cuts and layoffs to the Department of Education.

New York and the other attorneys general filed the lawsuit seeking to stop the firing of half the department's workforce after Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Fox News the cuts were "the first step of a total shutdown" of the department.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to issue a court order to block the layoffs and programs and argues the president’s administration lacks authority to make the cuts without Congress, calling it "illegal and unconstitutional."

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What to know about tensions between Iran and the U.S. as Trump sends a letter to its supreme leader

A letter U.S. President Donald Trump wrote to Iran's supreme leader in an attempt to jump-start talks over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program has arrived in the Iranian capital.

While the text of the letter hasn't been published, its arrival comes as Trump levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign targeting the country. He also suggested military action against Iran remained a possibility, while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached.

Iran's 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has mocked Trump, but officials in his country also have offered conflicting signals over whether negotiations could take place.

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Trump threatens retaliatory 200% tariff on European wine after EU proposes American whiskey tariff

President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened a 200% tariff on European wine, Champagne and spirits if the European Union goes forward with a planned tariff on American whiskey.

The European tariff, which was unveiled in response to steel and aluminum tariffs by the U.S. administration, is expected to go into effect on April 1, just ahead of separate reciprocal tariffs that Trump plans to place on the EU.

But Trump, in a morning social media post, vowed a new escalation in his trade war if the EU goes forward with the planned 50% tariff on American whiskey.

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Trump administration resumes detention of immigrant families after Biden-era pause

The Trump administration resumed family detention of immigrants last week in a South Texas facility after a Biden-era pause, a legal nonprofit group providing services to migrant families said Wednesday.

Fourteen immigrant families with children as young as one year old were in the detention facility in Karnes County, Texas, about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of San Antonio, according to RAICES, which provides services to families at the center. The families are originally from Colombia, Romania, Iran, Angola, Russia, Armenia, Turkey and Brazil.

Faisal Al-Juburi, the organization’s chief external affairs officer, said the families had been detained in the U.S. near the Mexican and Canadian borders. Some were in the U.S. for as little as 20 days and others for as long as about 10 years, Al-Juburi said. The nonprofit provided service to adult detainees at the center prior to last week's shift in the center’s detention population when the adult detainees were moved out.

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Affordable housing threatened as Trump halts $1 billion slated for extending life of aging buildings

The Trump administration is halting a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing, threatening projects that keep tens of thousands of units livable for low-income Americans, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The action is part of a slew of cuts and funding freezes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, largely at the direction of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, that have rattled the affordable-housing industry.

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Trump administration drops lawsuit against company over alleged abuse at its child migrant shelters

The Trump administration moved to drop a civil lawsuit Wednesday against the largest provider of housing for migrant children over allegations of sexual abuse and harassment of unaccompanied minors, saying it also would no longer be using that company's services.

The motion to dismiss the suit against Southwest Key Programs was filed after the federal government announced it had moved all unaccompanied children to other shelters and would no longer be using that provider.

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EPA terminates Biden-era climate grants worth $20 billion

The Environmental Protection Agency has terminated grant agreements worth $20 billion issued by the Biden administration under a so-called green bank to finance clean energy and climate-friendly projects.

The action comes weeks after the EPA froze the grants, which EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has characterized as a “gold bar” scheme marred by conflicts of interest and potential fraud.

“Twenty billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution, in a deliberate effort to limit government oversight — doling out your money through just eight pass-through, politically connected, unqualified and in some cases brand-new" nonprofit organizations, Zeldin said in a video shared Tuesday night.

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Trump campaigned as a protector of free speech. Critics say his actions as president threaten it.

When President Donald Trump gave his joint address to Congress last week, he boasted that in his first few weeks back in the White House he had “brought free speech back to America.”

But First Amendment advocates say they've never seen freedom of speech under attack the way it has been in Trump's second term.

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Trump administration halts $1 billion program that keeps aging affordable housing livable

The Trump administration is halting a $1 billion program that helps preserve affordable housing, threatening projects that keep tens of thousands of units livable for low-income Americans, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press.

The action is part of a slew of cuts and funding freezes at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, largely at the direction of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, that have rattled the affordable-housing industry.

Preserving these units gets less attention than ribbon-cuttings, but it's a centerpiece of efforts to address the nation's housing crisis. Hundreds of thousands of low-rent apartments, many of them aging and in need of urgent repair, are at risk of being yanked out from under poor Americans.

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EU retaliates against Trump's trade moves and hits beef, whiskey, motorcycles with targeted tariffs

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration's increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.

The world’s biggest trading bloc was expecting the U.S. tariffs and prepared in advance, but the measures still place great strain on already tense trans-Atlantic relations. Only last month, Washington warned Europe that it would have to take care of its own security in the future.

The EU measures will cover goods from the United States worth around 26 billion euros ($28 billion), and not just steel and aluminum products, but also textiles, home appliances and agricultural goods. Motorcycles, bourbon, peanut butter and jeans will also be hit, as they were during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term.

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Canada will announce more than $20 billion in tariffs in response to Trump's metal tariffs

TORONTO — Canada will announce Canadian $29.8 billion ($20.7 billion) in retaliatory tariffs in response to the 25% steel and aluminum tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump has leveled, a senior Canadian government official said Wednesday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak before the announcement.

The European Union on Wednesday also announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration’s increase in tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%.

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White House pressures Columbia University as it seeks to deport pro-Palestinian activists

The White House complained Tuesday that Columbia University is refusing to help federal agents find people being sought as part of the government’s effort to deport participants in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, as the administration continued to punish the school by yanking federal research dollars.

Immigration enforcement agents on Saturday arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a legal U.S. resident and Palestinian activist who played a prominent part in protests at Columbia last year. He is now facing possible deportation.

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Researchers are learning the Trump administration axed their work to improve vaccination

The Trump administration is canceling studies about ways to improve vaccine trust and access, a move that comes in the midst of a large measles outbreak fueled by unvaccinated children.

Researchers with grants from the National Institutes of Health to study why some people have questions or fears about vaccines and how to help those who want to be vaccinated overcome barriers are getting letters canceling their projects.

The step — first reported by The Washington Post, which cited dozens of expected cancellations — is highly unusual, as entire swaths of research typically aren’t ended mid-stream.

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U.S. judge temporarily halts Trump plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training

BOSTON — A federal judge in Boston on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration's plan to cut hundreds of millions of dollars for teacher training, finding that cuts are already affecting training programs aimed at addressing a nationwide teacher shortage.

U.S. District Judge Myong Joun sided with the eight states that had requested a temporary restraining order. The states argued the cuts were likely driven by efforts from President Donald Trump's administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Trump, a Republican, has said he wants to dismantle the Education Department, and his administration has already started overhauling much of its work, including cutting dozens of contracts it dismissed as “woke” and wasteful.

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Kentucky bourbon makers fear becoming 'collateral damage' in Trump's trade war

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With a new distillery set to open soon, the makers of Brough Brothers bourbon in Kentucky were ready to put their business plan into action. They were looking to ramp up whiskey production to break into lucrative new markets in Canada and Europe.

Now the on-again, off-again threat of tariffs has disrupted those plans.

Efforts by the Black-owned distiller to gain a foothold in Canada are on hold, as are plans to break into Germany and France, said Brough Brothers Distillery CEO Victor Yarbrough. That's because the iconic American spirit's widening global appeal is caught in the crossfire of trade conflicts instigated by President Donald Trump.

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Trump says TikTok deal is in the works. Here's where things stand with the company

In less than a month, TikTok could have one or a few new owners, be banned again, or simply receive another reprieve to continue operating in the United States.

Questions about the fate of the popular video sharing app have continued to linger since a law requiring its China-based parent company to divest or face a ban took effect on Jan. 19. After taking office, President Donald Trump gave TikTok a 75-day reprieve by signing an executive order that delayed enforcement of the statute until April 5.

As he returned to Washington from his Florida home on Sunday, Trump told reporters that a deal could come soon. He did not offer any details on the interested buyers, but said the administration was in talks with “four different groups” about TikTok.

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Education Department plans to lay off 1,300 employees as Trump vows to wind the agency down

The Education Department plans to lay off over 1,300 of its more than 4,000 employees as part of a reorganization that’s seen as a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the agency.

Department officials announced the cuts Tuesday, raising questions about the agency’s ability to continue usual operations.

The layoffs are part of a dramatic downsizing directed by Trump as he moves to reduce the footprint of the federal government. Thousands of jobs are expected to be cut across the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and other agencies.

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U.S. job openings rose to 7.7 million in January, a sign Trump inherited a strong labor market

U.S. job openings rose at the start of the year, another sign the job market was solid when President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

U.S. employers posted 7.7 million vacancies in January, the Labor Department reported Tuesday, up from 7.5 million. The outlook for the labor market is murky as Trump wages a trade war with foreign countries, purges federal workers and threatens to deport millions of immigrants.

Layoffs fell slightly in January, and the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose.

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Trump says he'll double planned tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel

U.S. President Donald Trump says he'll double planned tariffs on Canadian aluminum and steel, sticking with a trade war despite Monday’s stock market drop.

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Trump says he'll buy a Tesla to show support for Musk as his company faces financial trouble

With Elon Musk facing escalating political blowback and financial troubles, President Donald Trump said he would buy a Tesla vehicle from his company, an unusual show of support from the president to his most powerful adviser.

It was the latest example of how Trump has demonstrated loyalty to Musk, who spent heavily on his comeback campaign last year and has been a key figure in his second administration.

The Republican president announced early Tuesday that he was going to buy a new Tesla as "a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American.”

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Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in freezing Congress' funding for USAID, judge says

President Donald Trump overstepped his constitutional authority in freezing almost all spending on U.S. humanitarian and development work abroad, a federal judge ruled, saying the administration could no longer simply sit on the tens of billions of dollars that Congress has appropriated for foreign aid.

But Judge Amir H. Ali stopped short of ordering Trump officials to use the money to revive the thousands of contracts they have abruptly terminated for U.S. aid and development work around the world.

Ali's ruling Monday evening came hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the administration had finished what has been a six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, cutting 83% of them. Rubio said he would move the remaining aid programs under the State Department.

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Musk eyes Social Security and benefit programs for cuts while claiming widespread fraud

Elon Musk pushed debunked theories about Social Security on Monday while describing federal benefit programs as rife with fraud, suggesting they will be a primary target in his crusade to reduce government spending.

The billionaire entrepreneur, who is advising President Donald Trump, suggested that $500 billion to $700 billion in waste needed to be cut.

“Most of the federal spending is entitlements,” Musk told the Fox Business Network. “That’s the big one to eliminate.”

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Trump administration halts funding for two cybersecurity efforts, including one for elections

The Trump administration has cut millions of dollars in federal funding from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, has ended about $10 million in annual funding to the nonprofit Center for Internet Security, a CISA spokesperson said in an email Monday.

It’s the latest move by Trump administration officials to rein in the federal government’s role in election security, which has prompted concerns about an erosion of guardrails to prevent foreign meddling in U.S. elections.

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Senate confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Trump's labor secretary

The Senate voted Monday to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. labor secretary, a Cabinet position that puts her in charge of enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections at a time when the White House is trying to eliminate thousands of government employees.

Chavez-DeRemer will oversee the Department of Labor, one of several executive departments named in lawsuits challenging the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to order layoffs and access sensitive government data.

The Labor Department had nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion for fiscal year 2025. Some of its vast responsibilities include reporting the U.S. unemployment rate, regulating workplace health and safety standards, investigating minimum wage, child labor and overtime pay disputes, and applying laws on union organizing and unlawful terminations.

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China strikes back at Trump tariffs with 15% levies targeting U.S. farmers

WASHINGTON — China retaliated against President Donald Trump's tariffs with an additional 15% tax on key American farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef.

The escalating trade tensions punished U.S. markets Monday as investors fearful of the damage from from Trump's trade wars put their money elsewhere.

The Chinese tariffs, announced last week, were a response to Trump's decision to double the levy on Chinese imports to 20% on March 4. China's Commerce Ministry had earlier said that goods already in transit would be exempt from the retaliatory tariffs until April 12.

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Ontario slaps 25% increase on electricity exports to U.S. in response to Trump's trade war

TORONTO — Ontario's premier, the leader of Canada’s most populous province, announced that effective Monday his province is charging 25% more for electricity to 1.5 million Americans in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war.

Ontario provides electricity to Minnesota, New York and Michigan.

“President Trump’s tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They’re making life more expensive for American families and businesses," Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement. “Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won’t back down. We’ll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario.”

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Young people who aspired to government service dismayed by Trump ending the federal fellows program

WASHINGTON — A young economist who had uprooted her life for civil service. A fierce housing advocate terminated just before buying her first home. A semifinalist whose dreams were dashed before they materialized.

For decades, the Presidential Management Fellows program was seen as a building block for the civil service with the expectation that the few who earned the position would one day become leaders in the federal workforce. Now the road ahead is uncertain. Hundreds of the fellows have been terminated or placed on administrative leave amid a nationwide slashing of the federal workforce.

One of President Donald Trump's executive orders ended the program, which was created in 1978 to entice highly qualified workers with advanced degrees to join the federal government.

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Secretary of State Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete, with 83% of agency's programs gone

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, and said he would move the 18% of aid and development programs that survived under the State Department.

Rubio made the announcement in a post on X. It marked one of his relatively few public comments on what has been a historic shift away from U.S. foreign aid and development, executed by Trump political appointees at State and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency teams.

Rubio in the post thanked DOGE and “our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform” in foreign aid.

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Trump downplays business concerns about uncertainty from his tariffs and prospect of higher prices

President Donald Trump is dismissing business concerns over the uncertainty caused by his planned tariffs on a range of American trading partners and the prospect of higher prices, and isn't ruling out the possibility of a recession this year.

After imposing and then quickly pausing 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada that sent markets tumbling over concerns of a trade war, Trump said his plans for broader “reciprocal” tariffs will go into effect April 2, raising them to match what other countries assess.

“April 2nd, it becomes all reciprocal,” he said in a taped interview with Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.” “What they charge us, we charge them.”

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Air Force intercepts aircraft flying in a restricted zone near Mar-a-Lago

Air Force fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft flying in the temporarily restricted airspace near Donald Trump's Florida home Sunday, bringing the number of violations to more than 20 since the president took office on Jan. 20.

North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement that Sunday's incident, which took place as Trump finished a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf course, saw F-16s deploy flares to get the attention of the civilian pilot. Jets also conducted an intercept on Saturday morning shortly after Trump arrived at the course from his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence.

The airspace intrusions in the heavily congested south Florida airspace have prompted fighter jet intercepts but did not alter Trump's schedule or impact his security, officials said. NORAD says the flares may have been visible from the ground but that they burn out quickly and don’t pose danger.

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FEMA cancels classes at national fire training academy amid federal funding cuts

CHICAGO — The country's preeminent federal fire training academy canceled classes, effective immediately, on Saturday amid the ongoing flurry of funding freezes and staffing cuts by President Donald Trump's administration.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that National Fire Academy courses were canceled amid a “process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities,” according to a notice sent to instructors, students and fire departments. Instructors were told to cancel all future travel until further notice.

Firefighters, EMS providers and other first responders from across the country travel to the NFA's Maryland campus for the federally funded institution's free training programs.

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Trump's transactional approach to diplomacy is a driving force on the world stage

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump, the real estate developer turned commander in chief, is laying bare his style of diplomacy in the early weeks of his new term: It’s a whole lot like a high-stakes business deal, and his No. 1 goal is to come out of the transaction on top.

The tactics are clear in his brewing trade war with Canada and Mexico, in his approach to Russia’s war on Ukraine and in his selection of the first country he will visit in his second term.

“President Trump approaches diplomacy and engages in a very transactional manner, with economics as the foundation and driving force behind international affairs," retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the president's special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, explained at an event in Washington this past week.

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Musk and DOGE try to slash government by cutting out those who answer to voters

DENVER — For decades, conservatives in Congress have talked about the need to cut government deeply, but they have always pulled back from mandating specific reductions, fearful of voter backlash.

Now, President Donald Trump's administration is trying to make major cuts in government through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, run by billionaire Elon Musk — an initiative led by an unelected businessman who's unlikely to ever run for office and was appointed by a termed-out president who no longer needs to face voters again.

The dynamic of cutting government while also cutting out those who answer to voters has alarmed even some fiscal conservatives who have long pushed for Congress to reduce spending through the means laid out in the Constitution: a system of checks and balances that includes lawmakers elected across the country working with the president.

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No disease is deadlier in Africa than malaria. Trump's U.S. aid cuts weaken the fight against it

KAMPALA, Uganda — Malaria season begins this month in a large part of Africa. No disease is deadlier on the continent, especially for children. But the Trump administration's decision to terminate 90% of USAID’s foreign aid contracts has local health officials warning of catastrophe in some of the world’s poorest communities.

Dr. Jimmy Opigo, who runs Uganda’s malaria control program, told The Associated Press that USAID stop-work orders issued in late January left him and others “focusing on disaster preparedness.” The U.S. is the top bilateral funder of anti-malaria efforts in Africa.

Anti-malarial medicines and insecticide-treated bed nets to help control the mosquito-borne disease are “like our groceries,” Opigo said. “There’s got to be continuous supply.”

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Tribes and Native American students sue over Bureau of Indian Education firings

Three tribal nations and five Native American students say in a lawsuit that the Trump administration has failed its legal obligations to tribes when it cut jobs at Bureau of Indian Education schools.

Firings at two colleges as part of the administration’s cuts to federal agencies, with the help of Elon Musk, have left students and staff with unsafe conditions, canceled classes, and delayed financial aid, according to the lawsuit Friday.

Lawyers at the Native American Rights Fund filed the suit in federal court in the nation's capital against the heads of the Interior Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Education Programs on behalf of the Pueblo of Isleta, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes. The tribes allege they were not consulted when the federal government laid off several employees at the two colleges under the purview of the BIE.

House GOP campaign chairman says voters will 'reward us' for the Trump-Musk DOGE cuts

Almost two months into President Donald Trump's second term, the chairman of the House Republican campaign committee is already predicting his party will pick up seats in the midterm elections some 20 months away.

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., is in charge of increasing the GOP's slim majority in the House, or at least defending it. After Republicans met privately this past week with Elon Musk, Hudson said the cuts pushed by the Department of Government Efficiency are resonating with voters.

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US economic worries mount as Trump implements tariffs, cuts workforce and freezes spending

With his flurry of tariffs, government layoffs and spending freezes, there are growing worries President Donald Trump may be doing more to harm the U.S. economy than to fix it.

The labor market remains healthy with a 4.1% unemployment rate and 151,000 jobs added in February, and Trump likes to point to investment commitments by Apple and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to show that he's delivering results.

But Friday's employment report also found that the number of people stuck working part-time because of economic circumstances jumped by 460,000 last month. In the leisure and hospitality sectors that reflect consumers having extra money to spend, 16,000 jobs were lost. And the federal government reduced its payrolls by 10,000 in a potential harbinger of the alarm being sounded by the stock market, consumer confidence and other measures of where the economy is headed.

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Government aid to Ukraine

European Union leaders backed new defense spending plans aimed at freeing up billions of euros for the continent’s security after the Trump administration signaled that Europe would have to fend for itself in future.

As Trump pushes limits of power, courts and lawmakers increase pushback

President Donald Trump’s push to dramatically shrink the government, led by billionaire Elon Musk, hit some setbacks last week in federal courts and in talks with Republican lawmakers concerned about the legality of funding cuts.

Since Trump took office on Jan. 20, his administration and Musk have axed thousands of federal employees and claim to have sliced $105 billion in federal spending without sharing a budget or financial roadmap to Congress, spurring scores of lawsuits and frustration among lawmakers.

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Trump Organization sues Capital One for closing bank accounts after Jan. 6 attack on US Capitol

A company owned by President Donald Trump sued Capital One on Friday, claiming the bank unjustifiably terminated over 300 of the Trump Organization's accounts without cause in 2021, shortly after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The suit was filed by the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust and Eric Trump in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

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In 2015, Obama committed the US to achieving UN global goals by 2030. Trump just rejected the goals

In 2015, then-President Barack Obama committed the United States to achieving newly adopted U.N. global goals by 2030, including ending poverty, achieving gender equality and urgently tackling climate change. The Trump administration now says it “rejects and denounces” the goals.

The U.S. renunciation was one of the first — if not the first — by any country of the 17 goals that were adopted unanimously by all 193 U.N. member nations, with the aim of eliminating global hunger, protecting the planet, ensuring prosperity for all people, and promoting peace.

The Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, also include providing clean water and sanitation for all people and quality education for every child, while promoting good health and decent work and economic growth for everyone.

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States sue President Trump's administration over mass firings of probationary federal workers

Maryland and 19 other states are suing multiple federal agencies, contending President Donald Trump's administration has illegally fired thousands of federal probationary workers.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is leading the coalition of attorneys general in the federal lawsuit that was filed late Thursday in Maryland, where the state estimates about 10% of households receive wages from the federal government.

“The draconian actions of the Trump-Vance Administration could lead to tens of thousands of jobs lost, hundreds of thousands of lives disrupted, and the cratering of tens of millions of dollars in income here in Maryland,” Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said Friday in support of the complaint.

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What to know about Social Security office closures driven by Musk's DOGE

Across-the-board cuts at the Social Security Administration are prompting questions about how the benefits of millions of recipients may be affected.

Among the potential changes are layoffs for more than 10% of the agency’s workforce and the closure of dozens of offices throughout the U.S. It's all part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency, inspired by President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk.

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New EPA guidance says spending items greater than $50,000 must get approval from DOGE

The Environmental Protection Agency has issued new guidance directing that spending items greater than $50,000 now require approval from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The guidance, issued this week, escalates the role that the new efficiency group, known as DOGE, plays in EPA operations.

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Trump weighs new sanctions on Russia, days after pausing military aid and intel sharing with Ukraine

President Donald Trump said Friday he is “strongly considering” levying new sanctions and tariffs on Russia for its war against Ukraine, floating the possibility of new pressure on Moscow just days after he ordered a pause on U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said he was considering the action “based on the fact that Russia is absolutely 'pounding' Ukraine on the battlefield right now.”

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Trump signs executive order to establish government bitcoin reserve

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a government reserve of bitcoin, a key marker in the cryptocurrency's journey towards possible mainstream acceptance.

Under Trump's new order, the U.S. government will retain the estimated 200,000 bitcoin it's already seized in criminal and civil proceedings, according to Trump's “crypto czar” David Sacks.

“The U.S. will not sell any bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. It will be kept as a store of value. The Reserve is like a digital Fort Knox for the cryptocurrency often called ‘digital gold,’” Sacks said on social media.

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Top US-China and US-Canada goods affected by tariffs

President Donald Trump’s trade war against America’s three biggest trading partners drew immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China. Below are some of the top U.S. goods imported by China and Canada that will be affected by Trump’s tariffs and retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. exports to those countries.

Mexico has not yet announced details on what tariffs it might impose on the U.S. in response.

Toys are expected to cost more by fall due to new US tariffs on Chinese imports

As toy inventors, toy manufacturers and buyers for stores that sell toys met for a four-day annual trade show in New York last weekend, a topic besides which items were destined for holiday wish lists permeated the displays.

President Donald Trump had announced days before that he planned to increase the extra tariff he put on Chinese imports in February to 20%. Would he? By Tuesday, the last day of the Toy Fair, attendees had their answer, and the talk about how it would affect the prices of playthings grew more urgent.

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Why automakers' short reprieve from tariffs isn't enough to weather Trump's escalating trade war

President Donald Trump's short reprieve for U.S. automakers from stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada isn't likely to allow enough time for those companies to make the changes necessary to minimize the damage from Trump's intensifying trade war.

Trump granted a one-month exemption to 25% tariffs on vehicles and auto parts traded through the North American trade agreement USMCA after speaking with leaders of automakers Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the White House said Wednesday. Trump then broadened the exemption beyond autos for Mexico on Thursday.

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Judge orders Trump administration to pay nearly $2 billion in USAID and State Dept. debts

A federal judge on Thursday gave the Trump administration until Monday to pay nearly $2 billion in debts to partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, thawing the administration’s six-week funding freeze on all foreign assistance.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali ruled in favor of nonprofit groups and businesses that sued over the funding freeze, which has forced organizations around the world to slash services and lay off thousands of workers.

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Federal judge reinstates labor board member fired by President Donald Trump

A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump acted illegally when he fired a member of an independent labor agency, and the judge ordered that she be allowed to remain on the job.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., found Trump did not have the authority to remove Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board.

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CIA lays off some recently hired officers as Trump shakes up intelligence community

The Central Intelligence Agency will fire an unreleased number of junior officers as President Donald Trump's efforts to downsize and reshape the federal government reverberate through America's intelligence community.

The agency will review personnel hired within the past two years, an agency spokesperson said Thursday, and those officers with behavioral issues or who are deemed a poor fit for intelligence work will be laid off. The spokesperson said not everyone proves to be able to handle the pressures of the job.

The cuts are part of sweeping staffing reductions at agencies across the federal government made by Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. Some agencies, like the U.S. Agency for International Development, have been largely dismantled. While intelligence agencies have been spared the deepest cuts, they haven't been immune.

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Trump's address compared to other presidential addresses

Trump slashed teacher training, citing DEI. Educators say the grants fought staff shortages

Trump administration cuts to teacher training grants are putting a strain on rural school systems, which have relied on the money to help address teacher shortages.

In an overhaul at an agency President Donald Trump has described as being infiltrated by “ radicals, zealots and Marxists,” the Education Department last month cut $600 million in grants to the training programs, which it characterized as supporting divisive ideologies. Trump has said he wants to close the department, and new Education Secretary Linda McMahon has laid out how it could be dismantled.

Federal money makes up a significant portion of budgets in some rural districts, which rely more on grants and philanthropy because of their limited tax base, said Sharon Contreras, CEO of the Innovation Project, a collaboration among North Carolina school districts. A grant to that group supported teacher recruitment and retention, providing scholarships for teachers pursuing master’s degrees if they agreed to return to the area and serve as principals for three years.

Trump envoy says Ukrainians 'brought it on themselves' after US pauses aid and intelligence sharing

Ukraine was given “fair warning” by the White House before President Donald Trump this week ordered a pause on U.S. military assistance and intelligence sharing with Kyiv, a senior administration official said Thursday.

The Republican administration announced the pauses this week after Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Oval Office meeting devolved into a shouting match, with the U.S. president and Vice President JD Vance excoriating the Ukrainian leader for being insufficiently grateful for tens of billions of dollars in U.S. assistance sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded three years ago.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, said the pause is already having an impact on Kyiv, adding that the Ukrainians "brought it on themselves."

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Trump's erratic trade policies are baffling businesses, threatening investment and economic growth

WASHINGTON — Marc Rosenberg, founder and CEO of The Edge Desk in Deerfield, Illinois is getting ready to introduce a fancy ergonomic chair designed to reduce customers’ back pain and boost their productivity. He figures the most expensive one will sell for more than $1,000. But he can’t settle on a price, and he is reluctantly reducing the shipment he’s bringing to the United States from China.

There’s a reason for his caution: President Donald Trump’s ever-changing, on-again, off-again tariff war with America’s three biggest trading partners – Mexico, Canada and China.

On Wednesday, the mercurial president once again changed course: A day after he imposed 25% taxes – tariffs – on all imports from Canada and Mexico, he backpedaled and exempted autos crossing America’s northern and southern borders. Well, for 30 days anyway.

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Trump delays tariffs on most goods from Mexico for a month

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has postponed 25% tariffs on most goods from Mexico for a month after a conversation with that country's president.

Trump's announcement comes after his Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, said tariffs on both Canada and Mexico would “likely" be delayed. This is the second one-month postponement Trump has announced since first unveiling the import taxes in early February. The reprieve would apply to goods that are compliant with the trade agreement Trump negotiated with Canada and Mexico in his first term.

“We are working hard, together, on the Border, both in terms of stopping Illegal Aliens from entering the United States and, likewise, stopping Fentanyl,” Trump said on Truth Social.

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Second federal judge extends block preventing the Trump administration from freezing funding

BOSTON — A second federal judge on Thursday extended a block barring the Trump administration from freezing grants and loans potentially totaling trillions of dollars.

U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island granted the preliminary injunction in the lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states after a Trump administration plan for a sweeping pause on federal spending stirred up a wave of confusion and anxiety across the United States.

In his ruling, McConnell said the executive branch was trying to put itself above Congress and by doing so “undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”

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How Trump justifies his tariffs — from budget balancing to protecting 'the soul' of America

WASHINGTON — To President Donald Trump, “tariff” is more than “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” something he says often.

Tariffs, in Trump’s view, are also a cure for a number of the nation’s ills and the tool to reach new heights.

Most economists see taxes paid on imports as capable of addressing unfair trade practices, but they’re skeptical of the quasi-miraculous properties that Trump claims they possess.

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Hamas brushes off Trump's threat and says it will only free hostages in return for a lasting truce

CAIRO — The Hamas militant group on Thursday brushed off President Donald Trump's latest threat and reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas accused Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to back out of the ceasefire agreement they reached in January. The agreement calls for negotiations over a second phase in which the hostages would be released in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanoua said the “best path to free the remaining Israeli hostages” is through negotiations on that phase, which were supposed to begin in early February. Only limited preparatory talks have been held so far.

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At the Voice of America, the Trump administration is moving swiftly to assert its vision

As it has with other government agencies, the Trump administration is moving swiftly to assert its vision at the Voice of America. As it does so, a question hangs in the air: Is the news organization's journalistic mission, which dates to World War II, in for some fundamental changes?

Within the past week, VOA placed veteran U.S.-based journalist Steve Herman on an extended absence to investigate his social media activities, and moved to reassign White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara, who had been disciplined during the first Trump administration.

President Donald Trump's choice to lead VOA, unsuccessful Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, joined the organization as a special adviser while awaiting the approval necessary to take over.

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Facing Trump's threats, Columbia investigates students critical of Israel

Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the school accusing her of harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel.

The probe is part of a flurry of recent cases brought by a new university disciplinary committee — the Office of Institutional Equity — against Columbia students who have expressed criticism of Israel, according to records shared with The Associated Press.

In recent weeks, it has sent notices to dozens of students for activities ranging from sharing social media posts in support of Palestinian people to joining “unauthorized” protests.

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Veterans fired from federal jobs say they feel betrayed, including some who voted for Trump

Nathan Hooven is a disabled Air Force veteran who voted for Donald Trump in November. Barely three months later, he's now unemployed and says he feels betrayed by the president’s dramatic downsizing of the federal government that cost him his job.

“I think a lot of other veterans voted the same way, and we have been betrayed,” said Hooven, who was fired in February from a Virginia medical facility for veterans. “I feel like my life and the lives of so many like me, so many that have sacrificed so much for this country, are being destroyed.”

The mass firing of federal employees since Trump took office in January is pushing out veterans who make up 30% of the nation's federal workforce. The exact number of veterans who have lost their job is unknown, although House Democrats last month estimated that it was potentially in the thousands.

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Elon Musk comes to Capitol Hill to meet with Republicans who discuss turning DOGE cuts into law

WASHINGTON — Billionaire Elon Musk arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday and learned about something new — budget rescissions, an obscure legislative tool that could bring legal heft to his federal budget slashing effort and enshrine the cuts into law.

Musk joined a lunch meeting with Republican senators just hours after the Supreme Court issued a setback to the Trump administration's efforts to freeze some $2 billion in foreign aid funds as part of its sweeping shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development. As he opened the private session, Musk led with a message urging Congress to act.

Over plates of fried catfish, senators explained how the White House could put the billions of dollars of savings he has amassed into what’s called a budget rescissions package, and send it to Congress for a vote to rescind the funding. Musk seemed thrilled, they said.

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Appeals court allows removal of head of watchdog agency as legal battle rages over Trump firing

An appeals court has removed the head of a federal watchdog agency in the latest twist in a legal fight over Republican President Donald Trump's authority to fire the special counsel.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the Trump administration in allowing the immediate removal of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel while the court battle continues. Dellinger is likely to appeal.

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Trump administration moves to drop Idaho emergency abortion case with national implications

The Trump administration on Wednesday moved to drop an Idaho emergency abortion case in one of its first moves on the issue since President Donald Trump began his second term.

The Justice Department filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was originally filed by the Biden administration, and allow Idaho to fully enforce its strict abortion ban even during emergency situations.

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Trump grants one-month exemption for U.S. automakers from new tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada

President Donald Trump is granting a one-month exemption on his stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada for U.S. automakers, amid fears that the trade war could harm U.S. manufacturers.

The announcement comes after Trump spoke with leaders of the “big 3” automakers, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis on Wednesday. Trump also said he told the automaker chief executives that they should move production to the U.S from Canada and Mexico, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“We spoke with the big three auto dealers,” Trump said in a statement read by his spokesperson. “We are going to give a one month exemption on any autos coming through USMCA,” referencing the North American free trade agreement he renegotiated in his first term."

Trump's press secretary said the president is open to hearing about additional exemptions but Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not willing to lift Canada’s retaliatory tariffs if Trump leaves any tariffs on Canada, a senior government official told The Associated Press. The official confirmed the stance on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

“Both countries will continue to be in contact today,” Trudeau’s office said.

Wall Street rallies after Trump pulls back on some of his tariffs

U.S. stocks climbed Wednesday after President Donald Trump pulled back on some of his tariffs temporarily. The move revived hope on Wall Street that Trump may avoid a worst-case trade war that grinds down economies and sends inflation higher.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to bounce back from a sell-off that had erased all of its “Trump bump ″ since Election Day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 485 points, or 1.1%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1.5%.

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Trump says no one has heard of Lesotho. But Musk is trying to do business in the African nation.

U.S. President Donald Trump says no one has ever heard of Lesotho. The foreign minister of the small African kingdom tells The Associated Press that Trump should “speak for himself.”

“It is surprising and disappointing that he claimed no one knows Lesotho, especially given that the U.S. has an embassy here,” minster Lejone Mpotjoane said, a day after Trump’s dismissive comment in a speech to Congress caused some laughter. “He should speak for himself and not generalize.”

Mpotjoane said Trump appeared to pick on Lesotho because it isn’t a rich country, but warned: “One day America may need Lesotho’s support.”

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Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs, according to internal memo

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning an “aggressive” reorganization that includes cutting 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care for retired military members, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.

The VA's chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top level officials at the agency that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.

The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.” It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House's Department of Government Efficiency to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration's goals.

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Trudeau not willing to lift Canada's retaliatory tariffs if Trump leaves some tariffs on Canada

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is not willing to lift Canada’s retaliatory tariffs if Trump leaves any tariffs on Canada, a senior government official told The Associated Press

The official confirmed the stance on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Trump imposed tariffs against Washington’s three biggest trading partners, drawing immediate retaliation from Mexico, Canada and China and sending financial markets into a tailspin. President Donald Trump put 25% taxes, or tariffs, on Mexican and Canadian imports, though he limited the levy to 10% on Canadian energy.

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Trump administration also pauses flow of intelligence to Ukraine

WASHINGTON — The U.S. has paused its intelligence sharing with Ukraine, cutting off the flow of vital information that has helped the war-torn nation target Russian invaders, but Trump administration officials said Wednesday that positive talks between Washington and Kyiv mean it may only be a short suspension.

Information about Russia's intentions and military movements has been critical to Ukraine's defense and a strong indication of support from the U.S. and other Western allies. The suspension comes after Trump paused military aid to Ukraine and is another indication of how he has transformed America's relationship with close allies.

“We have taken a step back and are pausing and reviewing all aspects of this relationship,” national security adviser Mike Waltz said Wednesday.

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Panama president calls Trump's talk of 'reclaiming' the Panama Canal a lie

PANAMA CITY — Panama President José Raúl Mulino on Wednesday accused U.S. President Donald Trump of lying when he said in his address to Congress that his administration was “reclaiming” the Panama Canal.

Trump was referencing a deal announced Tuesday for a consortium led by the U.S. investment management company BlackRock Inc. to buy a controlling stake in the company held by a Chinese group that operates ports at both ends of the Panama Canal.

Panama maintains that it has full control over the canal and that the Hong Kong-based group's operation of the ports did not amount to Chinese control over the waterway, and that therefore the sale to a U.S.-based company would not represent any U.S. “reclaiming” of the canal. Panama's government on Tuesday called the sale a private transaction.

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Divided Supreme Court rejects Trump administration's push to rebuke judge over foreign aid freeze

WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a Trump administration push to rebuke a federal judge who imposed a quick deadline to release billions of dollars in foreign aid.

By a 5-4 vote, the court told U.S. District Judge Amir Ali to clarify his earlier order that required the Republican administration to release nearly $2 billion in aid for work that had already been done.

Justice Samuel Alito led four conservative justices in dissent, saying Ali lacks the authority to order the payments. Alito wrote that he is stunned the court is rewarding “an act of judicial hubris.”

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Veterans are speaking out on the Trump administration's plans to cut the VA's budget

NORFOLK, Va. — Stephen Watson served in the Marines for 22 years and receives care through the Department of Veterans Affairs for a traumatic brain injury. He supports President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk's cost-cutting program — even if it affects the VA.

“We're no better because we're veterans,” said Watson, 68, of Jesup, Georgia. “We all need to take a step back and realize that everybody’s gonna have to take a little bit on the chin to get these budget matters under control.”

Gregg Bafundo served during the first Gulf War and has nerve damage to his feet from carrying loads of weight as a Marine mortarman. He says he may need to turn to the VA for care after being fired as a wilderness ranger and firefighter through the layoffs at the U.S. Forest Service.

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Vance will visit the U.S.,-Mexico border to highlight the Trump administration's immigration crackdown

EAGLE PASS, Texas — Vice President JD Vance plans to visit the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday to highlight the tougher immigration policies that the Trump administration says have led to dramatically fewer arrests for illegal crossings in the opening weeks of Donald Trump's presidency.

Vance will be joined in Eagle Pass, Texas, by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as the highest-ranking members of Trump's Republican White House to visit the southern border.

Federal aviation authorities have cleared airspace for Air Force Two to make the trip, and state authorities and local activists say Vance's itinerary includes a visit to Shelby Park, a municipal greenspace along the Rio Grande that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott seized from federal authorities last year in a feud with the Biden administration, which he accused of not doing enough to curb illegal crossings.

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Child who overcame cancer sworn in as honorary Secret Service member

More than a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in a standing ovation for a guest of Trump, a child diagnosed with cancer who Trump said aspires to become a police officer. The child, named DJ, was held up by his father as Republicans and attendees in the House gallery chanted “DJ.”

Trump announced DJ would be sworn in by his new Secret Service director as a member of the force. DJ was held up by his father as he received a Secret Service badge by Director Sean Curran.

Democrats then went largely silent as Trump discussed his health policies. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib held up a whiteboard that read, “You cut cancer research.” One Republican shouted, “MAHA baby!”

Trump's Democratic rivals are fundraising off his speech

“HOLY COW!!!!!” reads the subject line of an email from former Vice President Kamala Harris seeking contributions to the Democratic National Committee.

Harris and the Democratic Party’s prodigious fundraising operation raised more than $1 billion in their campaign against Trump. But the former vice president has continued to solicit contributions under the “Harris Fight Fund.”

That’s the post-election label for the “Harris Victory Fund,” a joint fundraising operation of Harris’ campaign, the DNC and state Democratic parties.

Republicans applaud, Democrats point to Musk at Trump line on unelected bureaucrats

Republicans jumped to their feet in applause as Trump told them “the days of unelected bureaucrats are over.”

But at the same time, Democrats pointed to Elon Musk, who is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency. Democrats have levied their criticism at Musk as his team has scoured the federal government, cutting probationary employees and federal contracts.

Trump calls out woman injured by transgender athlete

One of Trump’s orders is intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. At least 24 states have already passed similar laws and a federal version sputtered this week in the U.S. Senate.

“From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding," Trump said during his speech.

Like others, he portrays the order as a way to protect girls and women.

In the audience was Payton McNabb, a former North Carolina high school athlete who suffered a concussion and neck injury that ended her athletic career after a ball hit by a transgender athlete struck her in a 2022 match.

The president of the NCAA said last year he was aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identified as transgender.

'How did that work out'

Trump said: “We’ve ended weaponized government where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent like me. How did that work out?”

Trump is gloating about having survived, without any meaningful accountability, four different criminal prosecutions — only one of which went to trial. He’s also repeating a favored and oft-stated assertion that the Justice Department over the last four years was weaponized against him.

It’s a claim that overlooks the extensive evidence of criminal conduct that prosecutors say they gathered related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his hoarding of classified documents. And his suggestion that his administration has acted to restore impartial justice at the Justice Department belies the fact that the department’s decision-making has already been rife with political considerations.

A new working group on so-called weaponization is targeting the prosecutors who investigated Trump, and senior officials dismissed a criminal case against New York’s mayor because they saw him as an ally in the president’s fight against illegal immigration.

No checks for dead people

Trump said: “Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119.”

The databases may list those people, but that does not mean they are getting paid benefits, as Trump implied.

Social Security’s acting administrator, Lee Dudek, said last month: “The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.”

Part of the confusion comes from Social Security’s software system, which is based on the COBOL programming language and has a lack of date type. This means that some entries with missing or incomplete birthdates will default to a reference point of more than 150 years ago.

Trump says his government must move quickly to lower egg prices

Trump talked about the price of eggs and other key staples at grocery stores, where prices have remained stubbornly high due to inflation.

He said Biden “let the price of eggs get out of control” and instructed members of his Cabinet to bring them down, saying they need to fix rising prices that he suggested the previous administration left them with.

French prime minister again lashes out at U.S. over Ukraine, says pause in aid is 'unbearable'

PARIS — France’s prime minister decried the U.S. pause on providing military aid to Ukraine as “unbearable” on Tuesday, describing it as tantamount to abandoning Ukrainians and allowing for a possible victory by Russia.

“The word ‘suspension’ fools no one,” Prime Minister François Bayrou said, addressing French senators and mounting what was his second sharp criticism of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump in as many days.

“The suspension in war of assistance to an aggressed country signifies that the aggressed country is being abandoned and that one accepts — or hopes — that its aggressor wins,” he said.

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Trudeau slams Trump's tariffs, says US is appeasing Putin while launching a trade war against Canada

TORONTO — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called American tariffs “very dumb” and said that U.S. President Donald Trump is appeasing Russia while launching a trade war against Canada.

In a blunt news conference during his final days in office, Trudeau said that Canada would plaster retaliatory tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods in response to Trump's 25% tariffs.

“Today the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend. At the same, they are talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin, a lying, murderous dictator. Make that make sense,” a visibly angry Trudeau said.

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Zelenskyy calls his Oval Office spat with Trump 'regrettable' and says he's ready to work for peace

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday the Oval Office blowup with U.S. President Donald Trump last week was “regrettable,” adding that he stands ready to work under Trump's “strong leadership” to get a lasting peace.

Zelenskyy’s remarks — an apparent attempt to placate Trump — came in a social media post on X, hours after the White House announced a pause military aid to Ukraine that is critical to fighting Russia’s invasion,

He also said Ukraine is ready to sign a lucrative deal on rare-earth minerals and security with Washington.

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Census Bureau under Trump seeks permission to delete questions about gender identity

The U.S. Census Bureau under the Trump administration has sought permission to delete questions about gender identity from a monthly survey that gathers near real-time data about American life.

The Census Bureau two weeks ago asked the Office of Management and Budget for permission to delete questions about gender identity from the Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey. The agency said the Feb. 14 request was made to align with President Donald Trump’s order stripping federal money from programs that “promote gender ideology.”

Issued on the first day of Trump's second term in January, his order calls for the federal government to define sex as only male or female and for that to be reflected on official documents such as passports and through policies such as federal prison assignments. The position conflicts with what the American Medical Association and other mainstream medical groups say: that extensive scientific research suggests sex and gender are better understood as a spectrum than by an either-or definition.

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Trump vowed to leverage federal money to fight antisemitism. He's starting at Columbia

WASHINGTON — Columbia University has become the first target in President Donald Trump’s campaign to cut federal money to colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Federal agencies are considering orders to stop work on $51 million in contracts with the New York City school, according to a Monday announcement from the departments of Education and Health and Human Services, and the General Services Administration. They’re also reviewing whether Columbia should be eligible to continue receiving more than $5 billion in federal grants.

Trump s aid on social media that federal funding will be stopped for any school or college that allows “illegal protests.”

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Judge rules Trump doesn't have the power to fire a civil service board member 'at will'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump did not have the authority to attempt to fire a member of the board responsible for protecting federal government employees from political reprisals or retaliation for whistleblowing, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, sued to keep her job after the White House told her last month that her position would be terminated.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that Trump, a Republican, doesn't have the power to remove Harris from office “at will.” Trump's attempt to fire her was illegal because he didn't seek to remove her for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” the judge said.

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Speaker Johnson tells GOP lawmakers to skip town halls after an onslaught of protests

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson is encouraging Republican lawmakers to skip town halls that have been filled with protesters decrying the Trump administration's slashing of federal government, echoing the president's claims that the demonstration's are fueled by professional protesters.

The speaker's advice Tuesday comes as GOP lawmakers often find themselves at a loss to explain the cuts, led by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, that are leaving federal workers suddenly out of jobs in communities from coast to coast. Democrats are jumping in to shine a bright light on what is happening.

“We’ve seen this movie before,” Johnson said at a news conference.

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AP again seeks end of its White House ban, saying the Trump administration is retaliating further

The Associated Press is asking a federal judge for a second time to immediately restore its access to presidential events, arguing that the Trump White House has doubled down on retaliating against the news outlet for its refusal to follow the president's executive order that renamed the Gulf of Mexico.

U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden last week refused AP’s request for an injunction to lift the ban against many of its reporters and photographers. But McFadden noted that case law weighed against the White House, and urged the administration to reconsider before a scheduled second hearing on March 20.

In an amended lawsuit filed late Monday, AP cited continued instances of journalists turned away — including a photographer not allowed on the West Palm Beach airport tarmac to document Air Force One's arrival — and the White House's decision to fully take control over membership of the pool that covers the president at smaller events.

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Trump's halt on military aid will hurt Ukraine's defenses. But it may not be fatal

The U.S. has been Ukraine’s biggest military backer since Russia’s full-scale invasion began three years ago. The suspension of that aid by the Trump administration doesn’t mean Ukraine’s defenses will quickly collapse.

But it's a major blow that threatens to remove some of the most formidable weapons in Ukraine’s battlefield arsenal, and ratchets up pressure on Kyiv to accept a peace agreement.

Here’s a look at the decision and its implications.

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Trump administration again labels the Houthis a 'foreign terrorist organization'

The State Department on Tuesday reinstated the “foreign terrorist organization” designation for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group, fulfilling an order announced by President Donald Trump shortly after he took office.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the department had restored the designation, which carries with it sanctions and penalties for anyone providing “material support” for the group.

“Since 2023, the Houthis have launched hundreds of attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, as well as U.S. service members defending freedom of navigation and our regional partners," Rubio said in a statement. "Most recently, the Houthis spared Chinese-flagged ships while targeting American and allied vessels.”

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Republicans target 4 'sanctuary' cities as Trump pushes mass deportations

Republicans in Congress are taking aim at four cities — often called “sanctuary cities” — over their policies limiting cooperation with immigration enforcement with a hearing this week that comes as President Donald Trump presses ahead with his campaign of mass deportations.

Mayors Michelle Wu of Boston, Brandon Johnson of Chicago, Mike Johnston of Denver and Eric Adams of New York are set to appear Wednesday in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

There’s no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE enforces U.S. immigration laws nationwide but seeks state and local help, particularly for large-scale deportations, requesting that police and sheriffs alert them to people it wants to deport and hold them until federal officers take custody.

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Mexico will impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that Mexico will respond to 25% tariffs imposed by the United States with its own retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

Sheinbaum said she will announce the products Mexico will target on Sunday in a public event in Mexico City’s central plaza, perhaps indicating Mexico still hopes to de-escalate the trade war set off by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“There is no motive or reason, nor justification that supports this decision that will affect our people and our nations,” she said.

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Trump's FDA pick made his name by bashing the medical establishment. Soon he may be leading it

Dr. Marty Makary rose to national attention by skewering the medical establishment in books and papers and bashing the federal response to COVID-19 on TV.

Now the Johns Hopkins University surgeon and researcher has been nominated to lead the Food and Drug Administration. The agency — responsible for regulating products ranging from toothpaste to vaccines — is famously understated, issuing carefully worded statements devoid of opinion or scientific speculation.

That's the opposite approach of Makary, whose sweeping rhetoric and biting criticism often veer into hyperbole, according to a review of recent speeches, interviews and podcast appearances by The Associated Press.

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Trump to outline his plans before Congress tonight

President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress Tuesday night, speaking to lawmakers and the nation about his second-term vision that has so far been executed through executive orders and unilateral actions in his first month back in office.

Trump has signed more than 70 executive orders since taking office on Jan. 20 — from declaring a national emergency at the U.S. southern border to establishing the government workforce cutting agency DOGE. But to enact other sweeping parts of his second-term agenda, including a revamp of his 2017 tax plan, he’ll need the Republican-controlled U.S. House and U.S. Senate to pass legislation.

While presidents typically use their annual address to Congress to appeal to lawmakers for bipartisan support, Trump enjoys control of both chambers and a Supreme Court stacked with three of his appointees. So he’s unlikely to think he needs to make such requests, said Christopher Malone, a professor of political science at Farmingdale State College.

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Head of FBI New York office says he's retired from the bureau after being ordered to do so

The head of the FBI's New York field office who was reported to have resisted Justice Department efforts to scrutinize agents who participated in politically sensitive investigations told coworkers on Monday that he has retired from the bureau after being directed to do so.

James Dennehy said in a message to colleagues obtained by The Associated Press that he was told late Friday to put in his retirement papers but was not given a reason. The move comes in a period of upheaval at the bureau as new FBI Director Kash Patel took office last month and as conservative podcast host and Trump loyalist Dan Bongino has been named to serve as deputy director.

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Hegseth orders suspension of Pentagon's offensive cyberoperations against Russia

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has paused offensive cyberoperations against Russia by U.S. Cyber Command, rolling back some efforts to contend with a key adversary even as national security experts call for the U.S. to expand those capabilities.

A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations, on Monday confirmed the pause.

Hegseth’s decision does not affect cyberoperations conducted by other agencies, including the CIA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. But the Trump administration also has rolled back other efforts at the FBI and other agencies related to countering digital and cyber threats.

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Trump hits 'pause' on US aid to Ukraine after Oval dustup, pressuring Zelenskyy on Russia talks

President Donald Trump on Monday directed a “pause” to U.S. assistance to Ukraine after a disastrous Oval Office meeting as Trump seeks to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to engage in peace talks with Russia.

A White House official said Trump is focused on reaching a peace deal to end the more than three-year war sparked by Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine, and wants Zelenskyy “committed” to that goal. The official added that the U.S. was “pausing and reviewing” its aid to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution.” The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the assistance.

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Senate confirms McMahon to lead Education Department as Trump pushes to shut it down

The Senate voted Monday to confirm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation’s education chief, a role that places her atop a department that President Donald Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle.

McMahon will face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. Already the Republican president has signed sweeping orders to rid America’s schools of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students while also calling for expanded school choice programs.

At the same time, Trump has promised to shut down the department and said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”

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Trump says 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports will start Tuesday

President Donald Trump said Monday that 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada will start Tuesday, sparking renewed fears of a North American trade war.

“Tomorrow — tariffs 25% on Canada and 25% on Mexico. And that’ll start,” Trump told reporters in the Roosevelt Room. Trump has said the tariffs are to force the two U.S. neighbors to step up their fight against fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.

Trump provided a one-month delay in February as both countries promised concessions. But Trump said Monday that there was “no room left for Mexico or for Canada” to avoid the steep new tariffs.

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Federal workers face second Musk deadline to explain their work last week

WASHINGTON — Federal employees face a midnight deadline to comply with Elon Musk 's second demand for reports on their recent accomplishments, a request that has become a flashpoint within the government workforce.

Musk and President Donald Trump have suggested that employees who don't comply could get fired. They've also described the requirement — a list of five things that each person did last week — as an unobjectionable way to increase accountability within a sprawling bureaucracy.

But for many workers, the request has been a source of anxiety and confusion as the new administration tightens its grip on the federal government. Some agencies are still telling their workforces not to respond or to limit what they say in response, just as they did after Musk's first request last month.

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Starmer and Macron step up to shape European security as Trump roils relations

LONDON — The leaders of Britain and France are spearheading a desperate diplomatic drive to shore up Europe’s security, bolster Ukraine’s defenses and ensure the Trump administration doesn’t seek a ceasefire on terms that reward Moscow for invading its neighbor.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron have been thrust to the fore by a U.S. administration that has embraced Moscow and derided Kyiv. Strikingly, their efforts are taking place outside the major institutions that have helped order Europe for decades: the EU and NATO.

“We are at a crossroads in history,” a somber Starmer said after a summit Sunday that he convened in support of Kyiv, three years into a grinding war.

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Ukraine's Zelenskyy says end of war with Russia is 'very, very far away'

KYIV, Ukraine — A deal to end the war between Ukraine and Russia “is still very, very far away,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, adding that he expects to keep receiving American support despite his recent fraught relations with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I think our relationship (with the U.S.) will continue, because it’s more than an occasional relationship,” Zelenskyy said late Sunday, referring to Washington’s support for the past three years of war.

“I believe that Ukraine has a strong enough partnership with the United States of America” to keep aid flowing, he said at a briefing in Ukrainian before leaving London.

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Trump sends crypto prices soaring after surprise announcement of strategic government reserve

Cryptocurrency prices jumped after President Donald Trump's surprise announcement he wants the U.S. government to purchase and hold a variety of digital assets in a strategic reserve fund, an announcement that highlights Trump's growing attempts to use volatile cryptocurrency prices as a barometer of his public support.

Trump said on social media Sunday that his administration is working toward creating a “Crypto Strategic Reserve” that will include lesser-known cryptocurrencies XRP, solana, and cardano. He later followed up with another post saying his planned reserve would also include bitcoin and ether, the two most popular cryptocurrencies.

The announcement helped crypto prices rebound, at least temporarily, after recent sell-offs. Bitcoin was trading around $90,000 Monday morning after dipping below $80,000 last week. XRP, solana and cardano saw massive spikes in their prices after Trump's announcement Sunday followed by a more gradual decline through Monday morning.

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Melania Trump goes to Capitol Hill to lobby for anti-revenge porn bill

Melania Trump is heading to Capitol Hill on Monday for a roundtable discussion with members of Congress and others on a bill could speed the removal of intimate imagery posted online without an individual's consent, or revenge porn.

It will be her first solo public appearance since she resumed the role of first lady on Jan. 20.

The “Take It Down Act,” sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., passed the Senate in February. Melania Trump's public show of support for the legislation could help get it through the Republican-controlled House and to President Donald Trump's desk to become law.

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Mexico makes case to avoid U.S. tariffs as it awaits Trump's decision

MEXICO CITY — Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that her administration is waiting to see if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican imports.

Her Cabinet secretaries for security and trade among others have been in constant communication with their U.S. counterparts and she said there was still the possibility she and Trump would speak Monday.

Trump had threatened to impose tariffs in February before suspending them at the last minute, when Mexico sent 10,000 National Guard troops to their shared border to crack down on drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

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Senate will vote on confirming Linda McMahon to lead an education agency Trump has vowed to close

The Senate is voting Monday on whether to confirm former wrestling executive Linda McMahon as the nation’s education chief, a role that would place her atop a department that President Donald Trump has vilified and vowed to dismantle.

McMahon would face the competing tasks of winding down the Education Department while also escalating efforts to achieve Trump’s agenda. Already the Republican president has signed sweeping orders to rid America’s schools of diversity programs and accommodations for transgender students while also calling for expanded school choice programs.

At the same time, Trump has promised to shut down the department and said he wants McMahon “to put herself out of a job.”

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How to watch the first joint address to Congress of Trump's second term

President Donald Trump on Tuesday night will deliver the first joint congressional address of his second presidency.

It's not officially called the State of the Union, a title reserved for a president's annual address to Congress during other years of an administration. But it is an opportunity for Trump to lay out his priorities for the year.

Here's information on how to tune in to Trump's joint address on Tuesday.

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Trump's past speeches to Congress asked them to pass his agenda. Now, he's willing to go it alone.

Judging by his past speeches to Congress, President Donald Trump once felt the need to ask lawmakers to pass his agenda. Not so much anymore.

Trump, who is addressing Congress on Tuesday night, has asserted his authority to reshape the federal government without needing to consult the legislative branch. That’s a break from his previous remarks to Congress in which he specifically sought lawmakers' backing on many of the actions he's now taking unilaterally.

On his own, Trump has signed orders to levy punishing taxes on imports, deport immigrants in the country illegally, fire hundreds of thousands of federal workers and freeze congressionally approved spending. There are limits to that approach as he will still need lawmakers' help to extend his 2017 tax cuts.

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Philippines confident Trump will continue military patrols to keep China in check in disputed sea

The Philippines' top diplomat to the United States expressed confidence Monday that President Donald Trump’s new administration would continue military patrols in the disputed South China Sea and move ahead with an agreed expansion of the U.S. military presence in the Philippines, as concerns rise over China’s increasingly assertive actions in the region.

Ambassador Jose Romualdez, who has had meetings with Trump’s diplomatic, defense and congressional officials, said the U.S. would likely maintain its support to help modernize the Philippine military, which is at the forefront of deterring China’s growing assertiveness in the disputed waters.

“All of that will remain,” Romualdez told foreign correspondents at a news conference in Manila. “I am confident that it will.”

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At LGBTQ fair, support for worried families

An LGBT family day event in Hauppauge sought to provide support for those in the community while resisting some of the Trump administration’s efforts.

"We exist. We are here," said Robert Vitelli, CEO of the LGBT Network, at its headquarters, the site of the nonprofit's LGBT Families Day on Sunday.

"We are Americans, and as Americans, we deserve to be free to be who we are," Vitelli added. "We will not be erased."

The family day, which included a bounce house and other activities for children, came after several orders from President Donald Trump targeting the nation's transgender community.

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Following Trump's lead, his allies lash out at Ukraine's Zelenskyy and suggest he may need to resign

PHOENIX — President Donald Trump's senior aides and allies lashed out at Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Washington as he attended a European summit Sunday in London to rally international support for his military's fight against the Russian invasion.

Following Trump's lead, White House officials and Republicans in Congress used news show appearances to demand that Zelenskyy display more gratitude for U.S. support and an openness to potential war-ending concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some suggested Zelenskyy should consider resigning even as Ukrainians rally around him.

But they offered little clarity as to what Zelenskyy and Ukraine could do after Friday's Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him before canceling the signature of an economic agreement between Washington and Kyiv. The dispute leaves the future of that relationship in question, as well as the prospects for ending a conflict that began when the Kremlin invaded in February 2022.

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The Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn.

“You know, that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel's “Sunday Morning Futures.” “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.”

Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the U.S. economy's health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because changes in taxes, spending, deficits and regulations by the government can impact the path of overall growth. GDP reports already include extensive details on government spending, offering a level of transparency for economists.

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Crowds protest near Vermont ski resort where JD Vance planned vacation with family

WAITSFIELD, Vt. — Crowds protesting Vice President JD Vance the day after an Oval Office blowout over Ukraine lined roadways Saturday near a Vermont ski resort where he planned a weekend vacation with his family.

Many of the hundreds of demonstrators held signs in support of Ukraine, while other anti-war protesters waved Palestinian flags or signs in support of immigrant rights. Protesters showed up at several locations in the area, including both sides of Route 100 in Waitsfield.

Though demonstrations were planned days in advance, they were energized Saturday morning by a heated Oval Office exchange a day earlier between Vance, President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trump’s assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted.

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Trump's next first speech to Congress is bound to have little resemblance to his last first one

The nation will hear a new president sing a far different tune in his prime-time address before Congress on Tuesday night. Some Americans will lustily sing along. Others will plug their ears.

The old tune is out – the one where a president declares “we strongly support NATO,” “I believe strongly in free trade” and Washington must do more to promote clean air, clean water, women’s health and civil rights.

That was Donald Trump in 2017.

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Zeldin sets out to shrink EPA and cut regulations

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has begun to do what President Donald Trump wanted to do in his first term but couldn’t: Shrink the Environmental Protection Agency and cut its regulations on energy and business.

In his first month on the job, Zeldin, a former Long Island congressman, has spoken less about protecting the environment in interviews and on social media than he has about his mission to "unleash energy dominance."

And in the past week, Zeldin announced he would seek to slash EPA spending by 65%, twice the 31% proposed by Trump in his first term and, according to news reports, recommended the repeal of a 2009 landmark EPA finding that greenhouse gases endanger the public health and welfare.

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From Alaska to Maine, communities that border Canada worry U.S. tariffs come at a personal cost

At the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, a quote from former President Ronald Reagan is engraved on one wall.

“Let the 5,000-mile border between Canada and the United States stand as a symbol for the future," Reagan said upon signing a 1988 free trade pact with America’s northern neighbor. "Let it forever be not a point of division but a meeting place between our great and true friends.”

But a point of division is here. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump plans to impose a 25% tariff on most imported Canadian goods and a 10% tariff on Canadian oil and gas. Canada has said it will retaliate with a 25% import tax on a multitude of American products, including wine, cigarettes and shotguns.

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Trump signs order designating English as the official language of the U.S.

President Donald Trump signed on Saturday an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States.

The order allows government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in language other than English.

It rescinds a mandate from former President Bill Clinton that required the government and organizations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.

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Trump takes actions to increase lumber supplies and curb wood imports

President Donald Trump on Saturday signed a pair of actions to increase domestic lumber production, including a directive for the Commerce Department to investigate the possible harms that lumber imports pose to national security.

The U.S. president signed an executive order to increase the possible supplies of timber and lumber and possibly lower housing and construction costs. The goal is to streamline the permitting process by salvaging more wood from forests and expand how much wood product can be offered for sale, according to a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the actions on a call with reporters.

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Judge rules head of watchdog agency must keep his job, says Trump's bid to oust him was unlawful

The head of a federal watchdog agency must remain in his job, a judge in Washington ruled on Saturday, saying President Donald Trump's bid to remove the special counsel was unlawful.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel, in a legal battle over the president's authority to oust the head of the independent agency that's likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Watch: Trump, Vance, Zelenskyy in heated Oval Office blow up

Watch Now • 5:49

Watch: Trump, Zelenskyy and Vance in Oval Office blowup

Trump and Zelenskyy spoke politely, even with admiration for one another for the first half hour of the meeting. But, when the Ukrainian leader raised an alarm about trusting any promises from Putin to end the fighting, Vance offered his strong rebuke for airing disagreements with Trump in public.

Lawyers sue to block Trump administration from sending 10 migrants to Guantanamo Bay

Civil rights attorneys sued the Trump administration Saturday to prevent it from transferring 10 migrants detained in the U.S. to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, their second legal challenge in less than a month over plans for holding up to 30,000 immigrants there for deportation.

The latest federal lawsuit so far applies only to 10 men facing transfer to the naval base in Cuba, and their attorneys said the administration will not notify them of who will be transferred or when. Like a lawsuit the same attorneys filed earlier this month for access to migrants already detained there, the latest case was filed in Washington and is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

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The Pentagon is sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the US-Mexico border

The Pentagon is sending about 3,000 more active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border as President Donald Trump seeks to clamp down on illegal immigration and fulfill a central promise of his campaign, U.S. officials said Saturday.

His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has ordered elements of a Stryker brigade combat team and a general support aviation battalion for the mission, the Pentagon announced. The forces will arrive along the nearly 2,000-mile border in the coming weeks.

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US auto industry could be collateral damage in Trump's trade wars

President Donald Trump’s trade wars threaten to claim a casualty on the home front: the American auto industry.

If the president goes ahead with 25% taxes on imports from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, he will disrupt more than $300 billion in annual U.S. automotive trade with its two neighbors, wreck supply chains that have been operating for decades and likely push up the already-forbidding price of new cars.

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Amid ICE fears, Long Island immigrants avoid health care

Some Long Island immigrants are not showing up for medical or mental health appointments or shifting to telehealth after the Trump administration rescinded a policy that had generally barred immigration enforcement at or near health facilities, health care and immigrant groups say.

In-person visits at some locations of Harmony Healthcare, the largest group of nonprofit health centers in Nassau County, with tens of thousands of patients, have fallen 10% to 15%. At Hispanic Counseling Center sites in Hempstead and Bay Shore, 25% to 30% more clients are requesting telehealth instead of in-person appointments. That puts their clients' physical and mental health at risk, leaders of those organizations said.

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Judge blocks order threatening funding for transgender youth care

SEATTLE — President Donald Trump’s plan to pull federal funding from institutions that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth will remain blocked on a long-term basis under a federal judge's ruling in Seattle late Friday.

U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King previously granted a two-week restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington, Oregon and Minnesota sued the Trump administration — Colorado has since joined the case.

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Trump to designate English as the official language of the U.S.

The order will allow government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in language other than English, according to a fact sheet about the impending order.

The executive order will rescind a mandate from former President Bill Clinton that required the government and organizations that received federal funding to provide language assistance to non-English speakers.

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Zelenskyy meets Trump at White House and seeks security assurances

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukraine's leader sought security guarantees as the U.S. tries to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Trump told Zelenskyy that doing so was disrespectful, as Zelenskky was pushing for U.S. security commitments to keep his country safe from further Russian aggression.

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Hundreds of weather forecasters fired in latest wave of DOGE cuts

Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said.

Federal workers who were not let go said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country.

Cuts at NOAA appeared to be happening in two rounds, one of 500 and one of 800, said Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist who said he got the information from someone with first-hand knowledge. That’s about 10% of NOAA’s workforce.

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Federal workers start to get a new email demanding their accomplishments

Federal employees are starting to receive another email requiring them to explain their recent accomplishments, a renewed attempt by President Donald Trump and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to demand answers from the government workforce.

Originally expected to go out Saturday, the new request began landing in the inboxes of some employees late Friday. The plan to send a second round of emails was initially disclosed by a person with knowledge of the situation who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

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Trump administration plans 'significant' cuts to Social Security Administration workforce

he Social Security Administration has notified employees that it will be making "significant" cuts to its workforce, a move that Democratic lawmakers contend could impact services to Social Security recipients on Long Island.

The Trump Administration is preparing to lay off at least 7,000 Social Security Administration employees from its workforce of 60,000, according to The Associated Press, citing an individual familiar with the agency’s plans who is not authorized to speak publicly. A second person said the cuts could be as high as 50%.

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As Trump's deadline to eliminate DEI nears, few schools openly rush to make changes

Schools and colleges across the U.S. face a Friday deadline to end diversity programs or risk having their federal money pulled by the Trump administration, yet few are openly rushing to make changes. Many believe they’re on solid legal ground, and they know it would be all but unprecedented — and extremely time-consuming — for the government to cut off funding.

State officials in Washington and California urged schools not to make changes, saying it doesn’t change federal law and doesn’t require any action. New York City schools have taken the same approach and said district policies and curriculum have not changed.

Leaders of some colleges shrugged the memo off entirely. Antioch University ’s chief said “most of higher education” won’t comply with the memo unless federal law is changed. Western Michigan University’s president told his campus to “please proceed as usual.”

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Transgender troops are now being identified for removal under Pentagon orders

The military services have 30 days to figure out how they will seek out and identify transgender service members to remove them from the force — a daunting task that may end up relying on troops self-reporting or tattling on their colleagues.

A memo sent to Defense Department leaders on Thursday — after the Pentagon filed it late Wednesday as part of a response to a lawsuit — orders the services to set up procedures to identify troops diagnosed with or being treated for gender dysphoria by March 26. They will then have 30 days to begin removing those troops from service.

The order expands on the executive order signed by President Donald Trump during his early days in office setting out steps toward banning transgender individuals from serving in the military. The directive has been challenged in court.

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U.S. judge in San Francisco will hear request by unions to halt mass firings of probationary workers

SAN FRANCISCO — Labor unions are asking a federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday for an emergency injunction blocking the mass firings of probationary federal employees by President Donald Trump’s administration, saying officials not only lack the authority to order terminations but that notices to workers were premised on a lie of poor job performance.

On the other side, attorneys for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will argue before U.S. District Judge William Alsup that the office did not create a “mass termination program” as plaintiffs say, but asked agencies to review and determine whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment.

“Agencies were responsible for deciding which probationary employees to keep and to terminate,” said Charles Ezell, acting director of the personnel office in a declaration filed with the court, adding that a determination of fitness must “take into account the existing needs and interests of government."

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Judge in San Francisco finds mass firings of federal probationary workers to be unlawful, orders further proceedings

A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting some temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive trimming of the federal workforce.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the Office of Personnel Management to inform certain federal agencies that it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees, including the Department of Defense.

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UK's Starmer will meet with Trump as Europe's leaders worry about drifting US support for Ukraine

WASHINGTON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will visit the White House on Thursday to try to convince President Donald Trump that a lasting peace in Ukraine will endure only if Kyiv and European leaders are at the table as negotiations move forward with Moscow.

Starmer's trip, coming a few days after French Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron's own visit, reflects the mounting concern felt by much of Europe that Trump's aggressive push to find an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine signals his willingness to concede too much to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We’re going to do the best we can to make the best deal we can for both sides,” Trump said Wednesday as he held the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. “For Ukraine, we’re going to try very hard to make a good deal so that they can get as much (land) back as possible."

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Trump's ending of 90% of USAID foreign aid contracts slams programs around the world

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Health groups and non-governmental organizations expressed surprise and outrage Thursday and said many humanitarian programs would collapse after the Trump administration's decision to cut 90% of USAID's foreign aid contracts.

The move, barely a month after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 90-day review of spending, will permanently defund programs across the world that fight hunger and disease and provide other life-saving help for millions.

“Women and children will go hungry, food will rot in warehouses while families starve, children will be born with HIV — among other tragedies,” said the InterAction group, an alliance of NGOs in the United States that work on aid programs across the world.

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DOGE access to US intelligence secrets poses a national security threat, Democrats say

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from Elon Musk about whether staffers at his Department of Government Efficiency have shared national security secrets over insecure communication channels.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia were joined by several other Democrats on a letter Thursday that asserts that reckless actions by Musk and Republican President Donald Trump's cost-cutting initiative present a threat to national security by exposing secrets about America's defense and intelligence agencies.

Such information would present huge advantages to U.S. adversaries by giving them critical information about Washington's defense priorities and the resources assigned to various missions and objectives, the lawmakers said.

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Senate committee recommends Lori Chavez-DeRemer's confirmation as Trump's labor secretary

A Senate committee voted Thursday to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump's choice to head the Department of Labor, one of the agencies named in lawsuits over moves by Elon Musk's cost-cutting team to access federal data systems.

Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions voted 13-9 to recommend Lori Chavez-DeRemer 's confirmation by the full Senate.

Although the former Republican congresswoman from Oregon is widely viewed as comparatively pro-labor, some Democratic senators have said they would oppose all of Trump’s remaining Cabinet picks as a way to protest his administration's far-reaching efforts to reshape the U.S. government.

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Trump plans tariffs on Mexico and Canada for March 4, while doubling existing 10% tariffs on China

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he plans to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting next Tuesday, in addition to doubling the 10% universal tariff charged on imports from China.

Posting on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said that illicit drugs such as fentanyl are being smuggled into the United States at “unacceptable levels" and that import taxes would force other countries to crackdown on the trafficking.

“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled,” the Republican president wrote. “China will likewise be charged an additional 10% Tariff on that date.”

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Presidential meme coins should be against the law, House Democrat says

California Democrat Rep. Sam Liccardo, a freshman congressman who represents Silicon Valley, said he’s surprised the first piece of legislation he’s sponsoring takes aim at President Donal Trump’s meme coin.

“That wasn’t my plan when I ran for office, I can assure you,” said Liccardo, the former mayor of San Jose.

But the president’s launch of a meme coin just before taking office last month needed some kind of response, said Liccardo. Those who bought the meme coin right after launch made out, but the price quickly dropped leaving others with big losses. Even Trump-supporting crypto enthusiasts found the launch distasteful.

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Trump's firing of military brass prompts concern but little pushback from Republicans

WASHINGTON — When the Senate unanimously confirmed Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as Air Force chief of staff in 2020, President Donald Trump hailed a “historic day for America!” on social media and said he was ”Excited to work even more closely with Gen. Brown, who is a Patriot and Great Leader!”

Trump's Feb. 21 social media post firing Brown, who had since risen to the military's top uniformed officer, was comparatively reserved. The Republican president dismissed Brown, the second African American to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with five other Pentagon officials in a rare move that some critics fear pushes politics into an institution vaunted for its nonpartisanship and adherence to the Constitution.

On Capitol Hill, the move drew little criticism from many Republican senators who had once hailed Brown's service to the nation.

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EU pushes back hard against Trump tariff threats and his caustic comments that bloc is out to get US

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Thursday pushed back hard against allegations by U.S. President Donald Trump that the 27-nation bloc was out to get the United States, and warned that it would vigorously fight any wholesale tariff of 25% on all EU products.

The tit-for-tat dispute following the vitriolic comments of Trump aimed at an age-old ally and its main postwar economic partner further deepened the trans-Atlantic rift that was already widened by Trump's warnings that Washington would drop security guarantees for its European allies.

Thursday's EU pushback came after Trump told reporters that “the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States. That’s the purpose of it, and they’ve done a good job of it,” adding that it would stop immediately under his presidency.

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Trump says Ukraine could 'forget about' joining NATO as he prepares to host Zelenskyy for talks

President Donald Trump says Ukraine “could forget about” joining NATO military alliance as he prepares to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday.

Trump also said Wednesday that he hopes to soon speak face to face with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine that began when Moscow invaded in February 2022.

The Republican president declined to detail what concessions he would ask the two sides to make, but he underscored his administration’s position that Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO, the Western military alliance, is not tenable.

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Keir Starmer heads to Washington with UK defense spending pledge to help sway Trump over Ukraine

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was flying to Washington on Wednesday after announcing a big increase in the British defense budget, an investment that he hopes will help persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to maintain support for Ukraine as Washington pushes to end the war.

Though Starmer is touting the trans-Atlantic “special relationship” that has endured since World War II, he faces an uncertain reception. Trump has upended decades of U.S. foreign policy during his first weeks in office.

Ukraine and its European allies are scrambling to respond after the Trump administration engaged directly with Moscow on ending the war in Ukraine. Starmer’s visit to the White House on Thursday is part of European efforts — following a trip to Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week — to ensure Kyiv gets a voice in negotiations, and that the U.S. still backs Europe in dealing with an aggressive Russia on its doorstep.

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Senate confirms Jamieson Greer to be Trump's top trade negotiator as battles loom

the Senate has confirmed Jamieson Greer, a veteran of President Donald Trump's first-term economic battles with China, Mexico and Canada, to be America's top trade negotiator.

As U.S. trade representative, Greer will work with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a billionaire financier, to oversee Trump's aggressive trade agenda. Greer's nomination cleared the Senate by a 56-43 vote on Wednesday.

Trump is an enthusiastic supporter of taxes — tariffs — on foreign imports in an effort to protect U.S. industry, raise revenue for the Treasury and coerce other countries into making concessions on issues ranging from trade to tax policy to immigration.

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Supreme Court, for now, blocks order for Trump administration to release billions in US foreign aid

The Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily blocked a judge’s order giving the Trump administration a midnight deadline to release billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the order issued by U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali will remain on hold until the high court has a chance to weigh in more fully.

Ali had ordered the federal government to comply with his decision temporarily blocking a freeze on foreign aid, ruling in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups and businesses. An appellate panel refused the administration’s request to intervene.

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Trump says Zelenskyy will visit the White House Friday to sign US-Ukraine critical minerals deal

President Donald Trump says Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a critical minerals deal.

Trump made the announcement Wednesday at start of his first Cabinet meeting.

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The Trump administration sets the stage for large-scale federal worker layoffs in a new memo

Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions, according to a memo distributed by President Donald Trump 's administration that sets in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of American government.

The memo expands the Republican president's effort to downsize the federal workforce, which he has described as bloated and impediment to his agenda. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and now his administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection.

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House Democrat introduces bill to reinstate veterans fired from the federal government under Trump

A freshman Democratic congressman is introducing a bill to protect the jobs of veterans working for the U.S. government amid mass firings by the Trump administration, the latest legislative response to the turmoil rippling across federal agencies.

The bill from Rep. Derek Tran, an Army veteran and former employment lawyer, would require that any veterans terminated without reason from the federal government since the start of President Donald Trump’s term be reinstated. It would also require federal agencies to submit reports to Congress on the veteran dismissals and provide justifications for their actions.

“They sacrificed so much to protect our country, to defend our freedom,” said Tran, who represents parts of Orange County, California. “Now they’ve been kicked to the curb.”

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The National Archives is nonpartisan but has found itself targeted by Trump

As President Donald Trump moves to overhaul the federal government with astonishing speed, he has wreaked havoc on one agency long known for its nonpartisanship and revered for its mission: the National Archives and Records Administration.

The independent agency and its trove of historic records have been the subject of Hollywood films and the foundation of research and policy. It also holds responsibilities in processes that are crucial for democracy, from amending the Constitution to electing a president. As the nation’s recordkeeper, the Archives tells the story of America — its founding, breakdowns, mistakes and triumphs.

Former employees of the agency now worry it's becoming politicized.

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Trump says he will offer 'gold cards' for $5 million path to citizenship, replacing investor visas

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to offer a “gold card” visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million, replacing a 35-year-old visa for investors.

"They’ll be wealthy and they’ll be successful, and they’ll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think it’s going to be extremely successful,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the “Trump Gold Card” would replace EB-5 visas in two weeks. EB-5s were created by Congress in 1990 to generate foreign investment and are available to people who spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.

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Federal employees may get more demands to justify their work at Elon Musk's direction

The turmoil that enveloped the federal workforce over the last few days is unlikely to cease anytime soon as the U.S. government's human resources agency considers how to fulfill Elon Musk ’s demands.

The Office of Personnel Management told agency leaders Monday that their employees did not have to comply with a Musk-inspired edict for workers to report their recent accomplishments or risk getting fired. But later that evening, OPM sent out another memo suggesting that there could be similar requests going forward — and workers might be sanctioned for noncompliance.

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Trump directs government to consider possible tariffs on copper

President Donald Trump on Tuesday directed the government to consider possible tariffs on copper, the latest move by the White House to tax a wide array of imports and reshape global trade.

“It will have a big impact,” said Trump before signing the executive order to study copper imports.

On a call with reporters, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro portrayed the move as an effort to stop China's build out of its copper sector and to address a broader national security vulnerability. There is also a desire to restore the domestic mining, smelting and refining of copper given potential military and technological needs.

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House GOP pushes 'big' budget resolution to passage, a crucial step toward delivering Trump's agenda

With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had almost no votes to spare in his bare-bones GOP majority and was fighting on all fronts — against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators — to advance the party’s signature legislative package. Trump was making calls to wayward GOP lawmakers and had invited Republicans to the White House.

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LIRR commuters see different directions for new Trump term

At the Hicksville LIRR station Monday, a pair of young commuters had divergent takes on the inauguration of President Donald Trump more than 200 miles away.

Hernan Payan Molina, 18, stood at the station waiting for his train home to Valley Stream.

"I have high hopes ... Not even 24 hours before he came to office, TikTok came back," he said, a reference to the platform restoring service Sunday after briefly going dark in the United States.

Molina, who emigrated from Columbia at age 10, said he hoped Trump will lower gas and food prices.

But Andrew Benson, 24, also of Valley Stream had a different take.

"It has emboldened a lot of people, made people feel like it’s okay to be discriminatory,” Benson said of Trump's second election to the White House.

On his walk to the Hicksville train station on Monday afternoon, Benson, who is originally from Canarsie, Brooklyn and works as a machinist, said a woman honked at him from her car, waving her American flag out the window.

“The people who vote for him are looking at immigration," said Benson, who voted for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. 

He said Trump supporters should take a more critical look at his economic policies. 

"They don’t understand society beyond the suburbs.”

Trump pardons upend massive Jan. 6 prosecution by freeing rioters and dismissing cases

Rioters locked up for their roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were released while judges began dismissing dozens of pending cases Tuesday after President Donald Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the insurrection that shook the foundation of American democracy.

With the stroke of a pen on his first day back in the White House, Trump’s order upended the largest prosecution in Justice Department history, freeing from prison people caught on camera viciously attacking police as well as leaders of far-right extremist groups convicted of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after his 2020 election loss.

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Marco Rubio has been sworn in as America's chief diplomat

Vice President JD Vance has sworn in Rubio as Secretary of State, the first of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to take the job.

Rubio said Trump’s primary priority will be furthering the United States’ interests and that anything the government and State Department do must make the country stronger, safer or more prosperous.

“If it doesn’t do one of those three things, we will not do it,” Rubio said.

Vance, who served as a senator alongside Rubio, called him a “bipartisan solutions seeker.”

Suspected settlers attacked Palestinian villages hours before Trump rescinded Biden sanctions

Shortly after suspected Jewish settlers stormed Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank late Monday, setting cars and property ablaze, U.S. President Donald Trump canceled sanctions against Israelis accused of violence in the territory.

The reversal of the Biden administration's sanctions, which were meant to punish radical settlers, could set the tone for a presidency that is expected to be more tolerant of Israel's expansion of settlements and of violence toward Palestinians. In Trump's previous term he lavished support on Israel, and he has once again surrounded himself with aides who back the settlers.

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Trump says he's revoking Biden's security clearance, ending intelligence briefings in payback move

President Donald Trump said Friday that he's revoking former President Joe Biden's security clearance and ending the daily intelligence briefings he's receiving in payback for Biden doing the same to him in 2021.

Trump made the announcement on social media shortly after arriving at Mar-a-Lago for the weekend.

Read more here.

Trump suggests displaced Palestinians in Gaza be 'permanently' resettled outside war-torn territory

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be “permanently” resettled outside the war-torn territory.

Trump made the provocative comments at the start of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where the two leaders are expected to discuss the fragile ceasefire and hostage deal in Israeli-Hamas conflict.

“I don’t think people should be going back," Trump said. “You can’t live in Gaza right now. I think we need another location. I think it should be a location that’s going to make people happy."

Read more here. 

Families and doctors sue over Trump's order to halt funding for gender-affirming care

A group of families with transgender children filed a lawsuit Tuesday over President Donald Trump's executive order to halt federal support for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19.

PFLAG, a national group for family of LGBTQ+ people; and GLMA, a doctors organization, are also plaintiffs in the court challenge in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

It comes one week after Trump signed an order calling for the federal government to stop funding the medical care through federal government-run health insurance programs including Medicaid and TRICARE.

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Trump's Jan. 6 pardons spark dueling resolutions in North Hempstead

The national conversation surrounding President Donald Trump’s pardons of about 1,500 people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol reached the front steps of North Hempstead Town Hall on Tuesday night.

A group of about 50 people gathered in the cold before the monthly town board meeting to protest a resolution put forth by Supervisor Jennifer DeSena amending the town board’s rules of procedure to preclude resolutions "on matters and issues outside the jurisdiction of the Town."

DeSena, a registered Democrat who caucuses with Republicans, put forth the resolution after Democratic Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte had proposed a resolution officially condemning Trump's Jan. 20 pardons.

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China counters with tariffs on U.S. products

China countered President Donald Trump's across-the-board tariffs on Chinese products with tariffs on select U.S. imports Tuesday, as well as announcing an antitrust investigation into Google and other trade measures.

U.S. tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico were also set to go into effect Tuesday before Trump agreed to a 30-day pause as the two countries acted to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. Trump planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days.

The Chinese response was “measured,” said John Gong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. “I don’t think they want the trade war escalating," he said. "And they see this example from Canada and Mexico and probably they are hoping for the same thing.”

This isn't the first round of tit-for-tat actions between the two countries. China and the U.S. had engaged in a trade war in 2018 when Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods and China responded in kind.

This time, analysts said, China is much better prepared to counter, with the government announcing a slew of measures that cut across different sectors of the economy, from energy to individual U.S. companies.

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Trump says he's given advisers instructions for Iran to be 'obliterated' if it assassinates him

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's given his advisers instructions to obliterate Iran if it assassinates him.

“If they did that they would be obliterated,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters while signing an executive order calling for the U.S. government to impose maximum pressure on Tehran. "I’ve left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left.”

The Justice Department announced in federal charges in November that an Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election had been thwarted.

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What did US get from deals to pause tariffs on Canada and Mexico? Not that much, observers say

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs against Canada and Mexico — now on hold for a month — risked blowing up North America’s economy. What did the United States get out of his deals to pause the import taxes against the two nations?

Not all that much, according to people outside the administration looking at the agreements.

The U.S. president has been openly pugnacious with America's two largest trade partners. His orders to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Mexico and on most imports from Canada, with a lesser 10% tax on its energy products, created a sudden political and economic firestorm. Separately, 10% tariffs went into effect on China on Tuesday.

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Trump administration tells federal workers on Long Island: return to office or submit resignation

President Donald Trump’s order requiring the federal government’s more than 2 million civilian employees to return in-person full time — or opt by next week to quit — will impact thousands who work on Long Island, particularly those who have been doing at least some work from home since the COVID-19 pandemic.

And the order has the potential to reshape the agencies themselves nationwide and on the Island.

There are about 17,000 federal civilian jobs on Long Island, according to the state Department of Labor, and roughly 28,000 Long Islanders who are federal workers anywhere.

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Panama's president says there will be no negotiation about ownership of canal

Panama President José Raúl Mulino said Thursday there will be no negotiation with the United States over ownership of the Panama Canal, and he hopes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s upcoming visit will allow them to focus on shared interests including migration and combating drug trafficking.

Being the destination for the first overseas visit by the top U.S. diplomat would have been big for Panama in any case, but Rubio comes as the emissary of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly suggested the U.S. retake the Panama Canal.

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Trump's third-term musings seem more a tease than a pledge

President Donald Trump has just started his second term, his last one permitted under the U.S. Constitution. But he's already started making quips about serving a third one.

“Am I allowed to run again?” Trump joked during the House Republican retreat in Florida last month. Whether teasing or taunting, it seems to be part of a pattern. Just a week after he won election last fall, Trump suggested in a meeting with House Republicans that he might want to stick around after his second term was over.

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Trump says he'll announce reciprocal tariffs on trading partners

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he's announcing increases on U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports.

“TODAY IS THE BIG ONE: RECIPROCAL TARIFFS!!!” Trump posted on his social media site, Truth Social. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

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NYC Mayor Adams to attend inauguration

WASHINGTON — New York City Mayor Eric Adams will be among those attending President-Elect Donald Trump's inauguration, according to an updated schedule released by Adams' office Monday morning.

"On Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams will travel to Washington D.C. to attend the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump," the mayor's office said in a statement. The mayor was scheduled to attend a number of Martin Luther King Jr. Day events in New York City, but those appearances were since scrapped, according to the revised schedule.

Adams, who is facing federal corruption charges, flew to Mar-a-Lago and met with Trump on Friday, but he has said the meeting was to discuss opportunities to work with the incoming president on New York City issues. He has said the meeting was not to discuss a potential presidential pardon from Trump.

Biden wrote a letter to Trump 

Biden says he wrote a letter to Trump.

It’s become tradition for the outgoing president to write a letter to his successor and leave it in the drawer of the Oval Office desk for the new president to find.

Biden declined to say what he said in the note. Trump wrote Biden a note four years ago.

Biafra gets a voice at inauguration from Long Islander

WASHINGTON — Outside a Union Station coffee shop Monday morning, the government in exile of Biafra, a secessionist state in Nigeria, gathered with an Eritrean dissident and the lobbyist they shared for what they hoped would be a full day of meetings with American officials and a visit to the inauguration ceremony.

“We are here in support of the new administration and hoping that [Trump] will be in support of us,” said Bryson Okeoma, a former Stony Brook University researcher who lives in Stony Brook and works at New York Medical College in Valhalla. Okeoma, who serves as Biafra’s foreign affairs minister, said many Biafrans were disappointed when, under President Joe Biden, he said the United States eased scrutiny of Nigeria, despite what he said was a steady drumbeat of persecution and killings of Biafrans.

“We felt betrayed,” he said. “We are at a point, if we don’t do anything, in a few years our people will be wiped out.” Ogechukwu Nkere, Biafra’s acting prime minister, said he had met Republican leaders including Speaker Mike Johnson and attended a Trump rally in Palm Beach, Florida. “We believe that when America leads, the rest of the world will follow, “ he said.

Trump returning to power after unprecedented comeback, emboldened to reshape American institutions

Donald Trump, who overcame impeachments, criminal indictments and a pair of assassination attempts to win another term in the White House, will be sworn in as the 47th president on Monday, taking charge as Republicans assume unified control of Washington and set out to reshape the country's institutions.

Trump is expected to act swiftly after the ceremony, with executive orders already prepared for his signature to jumpstart deportations, increase fossil fuel development and reduce civil service protections for government workers, promising that his term will bring about “a brand new day of American strength and prosperity, dignity and pride.”

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Trump set to take oath of office at noon

President-elect Donald Trump is set to take the oath of office at a ceremony at noon, just over two months after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House amid a series of legal troubles. With temperatures plunging to the mid-20s, organizers moved the event indoors, including to the Capital One Arena. The ceremony usually takes place on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol before spectators and members of the Legislative and Judiciary branches. 

Trump's victory marks his return to the country's highest office after losing to Joe Biden in 2020. He will be the second president in U.S. history to make a nonconsecutive return to the White House, a distinction first held by Grover Cleveland. Trump, 78, is also among the handful of presidents to replace his vice president. That role will be filled by Vice President-elect JD Vance, who replaces Mike Pence.

Trump is expected to appear at a number of events before and after he is sworn into office as the nation's 47th president, including an indoor parade that usually takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Newsday is providing team coverage throughout the day, with reporters fanning across the nation's capital and Long Island. Check back for live blog updates on all the key moments happening throughout the day. 

Spirits high at America First Warehouse in Ronkonkoma

Around two dozen people lined up in the frigid parking lot of the America First Warehouse hours before the inauguration was set to begin.

Decked out in Trump hats and draped in American flags, some attendees said they purchased tickets for the watch party back in November after Trump was elected.

“How’s everybody doing today?" one organizer shouted to the cheering crowd. "Look at these good-looking Trump people. We won baby!”

Wearing red and blue head-to-toe down to her cowboy hat, Smithtown resident Ginny Maurici stood in line with her husband, Thomas.

“He’s going to be the best president that America ever had,” she said.

Maurici is most excited for Trump to “get the Democrats out,” secure the border and “drill, baby, drill,” she said. As for local issues, she hopes Trump will bring back the SALT tax deduction and ban transgender girls and women from playing on women’s sports teams.

“We could’ve lived with it, but we couldn’t allow the way it was going for our children and our grandchildren,” Thomas Maurici said of Biden’s presidency.

Trump's first full day back in White House includes firings and an infrastructure announcement

President Donald Trump is spending his first full day back in the White House meeting with congressional leaders, making an infrastructure announcement and demonstrating one of his favored expressions of power: firing people.

The new president posted on his Truth social media network early Tuesday that he would fire more than 1,000 presidential appointees “who are not aligned with our vision," including some high-profile names.

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In NYC, anti-Trump protesters hit streets

Several anti-Trump protesters took to the streets in New York City on Inauguration Day. Lone protester Marc Leavitt, an attorney from Sunnyside, Queens, was surrounded by police outside Trump Tower who initially told him to leave. He played several songs including "The Star Spangled Banner" on the flute. Police eventually backed off as he continued to play.

“Democracy is important and unfortunately we’re inaugurating our 'embarrasser-in-chief,' ” Leavitt said. “People can protest in various ways, and many still are.”

At Washington Square Park, Kathleen Sullivan, 57, of Brooklyn, was once again protesting Trump, this time on his second Inauguration Day. She brought back her “RESIST” pin she had retired in 2020. Sullivan said she’s even more worried about Trump’s second term than she was for the first.

“Trump has been given immunity from the Supreme Court. So he's coming in with a lot more testosterone and a lot more power, so it's a scary time," Sullivan said. “He's not a nice man, and he's going to be going after people who have legitimate rights to be here under our Constitution. He's going to rule under a fist of fear, and it's doesn't look good for our country."

President Trump wants to make showerheads and toilets flow greatly again, but so may utility bills

President Donald Trump once expressed concern with how low showerhead flow affected his “perfect” hair. Now back in the White House, he's again taking aim at some high-efficiency household items — and that may mean higher water and electric bills in your home.

One of Trump’s several dozen first-day executive orders promises to “unleash American energy,” including a pledge to ease efficiency standards for household appliances and fixtures.

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Rubio kicks off Trump foreign policy engagements in meetings with Indo-Pacific 'Quad'

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Tuesday with his counterparts from Australia, India and Japan as the Trump administration kicked off its formal foreign policy engagements in discussions with the Indo-Pacific “Quad.”

The grouping of the four countries has been seen by many as an initiative to counter or at least slow China’s increasing assertiveness and aggressiveness in the region, something over which President Donald Trump and his predecessors have all expressed deep concern.

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Trump administration directs all federal DEI staff to be put on leave

Trump’s administration is directing that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff be put on paid leave, and that agencies develop plans to lay them off, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.

Tuesday’s memo follows an executive order that Trump signed his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs that could include anti-bias training and funding for minority farmers and homeowners.

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Federal judge blocks Elon Musk's DOGE from accessing sensitive US Treasury Department material

A federal judge early Saturday blocked Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.

U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued the preliminary injunction after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump. The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk’s team access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system in violation of federal law.

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White House and Ukraine nearing rare earths deal that would tighten relationship, AP source says

The White House and Ukraine have made significant progress toward reaching an agreement that would provide the U.S. with access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals and tighten the long-term relationship between Kyiv and Washington, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The progress in talks comes after President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traded sharp rhetoric this week about their differences over the matter.

Zelenskyy said he balked at signing off on a deal that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pushed during a visit to Kyiv last week, and the Ukrainian leader objected again days later during a meeting in Munich with Vice President JD Vance because the American proposal did not include security guarantees.

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Trump says some white South Africans are oppressed, could be resettled in the US. They say no thanks

Groups representing some of South Africa's white minority responded Saturday to a plan by President Donald Trump to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by saying: thanks, but no thanks.

The plan was detailed in an executive order Trump signed Friday that stopped all aid and financial assistance to South Africa as punishment for what the Trump administration said were “rights violations” by the government against some of its white citizens.

The Trump administration accused the South African government of allowing violent attacks on white Afrikaner farmers and introducing a land expropriation law that enables it to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners' agricultural property without compensation.”

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Trump's birthright citizenship order is put on hold by a second federal judge

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally, calling citizenship a “most precious right.”

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said no court in the country has endorsed the Trump administration’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

“This court will not be the first,” she said.

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Trump administration freezes many health agency reports and posts

The Trump administration has put a freeze on many federal health agency communications with the public through at least the end of the month.

In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dorothy Fink told agency staff leaders Tuesday that an “immediate pause” had been ordered on — among other things — regulations, guidance, announcements, press releases, social media posts and website posts until such communications had been approved by a political appointee.

The pause also applies to anything intended to be published in the Federal Register, where the executive branch communicates rules and regulations, and the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientific publication.

White House sidelines staffers detailed to National Security Council, aligning team to Trump agenda

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump 's national security adviser is sidelining roughly 160 career government employees on temporary duty at the White House National Security Council, telling them to work from home for the time-being as the administration reviews staffing for the White House arm that provides national security and foreign policy advice to the president, Trump administration officials told The Associated Press

The career employees, commonly referred to as detailees, were summoned on Wednesday to an all-staff meeting in which were to be told that they'll be expected to be available to the NSC's senior directors but would not need to report to the White House, the officials said.

Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz, had signaled before Inauguration Day that he would look to move holdover civil servants that served in the NSC during President Joe Biden's administration back to their home agencies. The move is meant to ensure the council is staffed by those who support Trump's agenda.

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New FBI Director Kash Patel plans to move up to 1,500 workers out of Washington

New FBI Director Kash Patel has told senior officials that he plans to relocate up to 1,000 employees from Washington to field offices around the country and move an additional 500 to a large bureau facility in Huntsville, Alabama, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

The plans were communicated Friday, the same day Patel was sworn in on the campus of the White House, and are in keeping with his oft-stated vision of reducing the size of the FBI’s footprint in Washington and having more of a presence in offices in other cities.

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Trump move allows immigration agents to enter houses of worship and other 'sensitive' locations

Faith leaders and advocates on Wednesday lambasted President Donald Trump's move to allow immigration agents to enter houses of worship and other "sensitive" locations, including schools and hospitals, to arrest people in the country illegally.

The move, which overturns decades of U.S. policy and was made through an executive order signed by Trump on Monday shortly after his inauguration, also provoked criticism from school leaders. They said it could lead to attendance issues, dropouts, or a decline in academic performance among migrant families.

"Schools are places where our kids come to learn, not to be interrogated about their status, not a place to be arrested," said Dafny Irizarry, president of the Long Island Latino Teachers Association.

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Trump made DOGE part of the government. Here's what that might mean

he new Department of Government Efficiency, President Donald Trump ’s special commission tasked with slashing federal spending, has formally joined the government whose size it is supposed to help shrink.

The parade of executive orders Trump signed on his first day in office included one renaming the U.S. Digital Service as the U.S. DOGE Service. It further directed that DOGE be established within the Executive Office of the President.

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Judge largely blocks Trump's executive orders ending federal support for DEI programs

A federal judge on Friday largely blocked sweeping executive orders from President Donald Trump that seek to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore granted a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from terminating or changing federal contracts they consider equity-related.

Abelson found that the orders likely carry constitutional violations, including against free-speech rights.

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Trump revokes protections for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and top Iran aide

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, who have faced threats from Iran since they took hard-line stances on the Islamic Republic during Trump's first administration.

A congressional staffer and a person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss personal security details, confirmed the change, but neither could offer an explanation. They said that Pompeo and Hook were told of the loss of protection on Wednesday and that it took effect at 11 p.m. that night.

It's another sign of steps Trump is taking just days into his return to the White House to target those he has perceived as adversaries.

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Senate advances Pete Hegseth as Trump's defense secretary, despite allegations against him

WASHINGTON — Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Thursday that she will vote against confirming Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, becoming the first Republican to oppose one of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks ahead of a crucial test vote.

Murkowski, of Alaska, said in a lengthy statement that allegations of excessive drinking and aggressive actions toward women, which Hegseth has denied, show that his behaviors “starkly contrast” with what is expected of the U.S. military. She also noted his past statements that women should not fill military combat roles.

“I remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join,” Murkowski wrote on social media.

Read more here. 

Trump's memo on deportations prompts fear in LI's Haitian community

Fear has risen among the Haitian community on Long Island after a Department of Homeland Security memo gave immigration enforcement agents the power to quickly deport migrants who have been allowed into the country temporarily.

The memo issued late Thursday outlines ways agents can expel migrants who were let into the country under two programs instituted by President Joe Biden, including one that allowed thousands of Haitians to flee their country’s chaos and move temporarily to New York, Florida and other states.

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Trump wants Jordan and Egypt to accept more refugees and floats plan to 'just clean out' Gaza

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — President Donald Trump said Saturday he’d like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip — potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create virtual clean slate.

During a 20-minute question-and-answer session with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday, Trump said he discussed his vision on a call earlier in the day with King Abdullah II of Jordan and would speak Sunday with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt.

“I’d like him to take people. I’d like Egypt to take people,” said Trump. “You’re talking about, probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know it’s, over.’”

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Trump orders tariffs, visa restrictions on Colombia over rejection of deportation flights

BOGOTA, Colombia — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he was ordering tariffs, visa restrictions and other retaliatory measures to be taken against Colombia after its government rejected two flights carrying migrants.

Trump said the measures were necessary, because the decision of Colombian President Gustavo Petro “jeopardized” national security in the U.S.

“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.”

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Trump should rethink revoking former officials' security details, Tom Cotton says

DES MOINES, Iowa — President Donald Trump should rethink his decision to remove security details from three former senior national security officials, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday.

That protection is not just for them, but also the public, said Sen. Tom Cotton, a Trump loyalist who nonetheless is pushing back against the president’s targeting of those he perceived as adversaries. Cotton said a president needs to keep qualified individuals interested in serving the White House and that may sometimes require enhanced security for officials.

The Arkansas senator said he would encourage Trump “to revisit the decision for those people” — former National Security Adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Brian Hook, a former senior policy adviser to Pompeo. All were involved in planning and discussions of the deadly drone strike on Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.

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Lindsey Graham, a top Trump ally, says pardoning Capitol attackers sends 'the wrong signal'

DORAL, Fla. — A key ally of President Donald Trump said the White House pardoning rioters who fought with police while storming the U.S. Capitol in 2021 is “sending the wrong signal” and expressed concern about the future ramifications of issuing sweeping clemencies.

“I have always said that, I think, when you pardon people who attack police officers, you’re sending the wrong signal to the public at large," Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is close to Trump, told CNN on Sunday. "It's not what you want to do to protect cops.”

Within hours of taking office last week, Trump issued a sweeping clemency order covering around 1,500 rioters for their role on the Capitol attack that attempted to block congressional certification of Joe Biden 's 2020 election victory on Jan. 6, 2021.

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A bid to block Trump's cancellation of birthright citizenship is in federal court

A federal judge in Seattle is set to hear the first arguments Thursday in a multi-state lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents' immigration status.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour scheduled the session to consider the request from Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are U.S. citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won't become U.S. citizens.

The order, signed by Trump on Inauguration Day, is slated to take effect on Feb. 19. It could impact hundreds of thousands of people born in the country, according to one of the lawsuits. In 2022, there were about 255,000 births of citizen children to mothers living in the country illegally and about 153,000 births to two such parents, according to the four-state suit filed in Seattle.

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Trump proposes 'getting rid of FEMA' while visiting disaster zones

President Donald Trump is heading to hurricane-battered western North Carolina and wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles on Friday, using the first trip of his second administration to tour areas where politics has clouded the response to deadly disasters.

Trump is also considering overhauling the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some of his conservative allies have proposed reducing how much the agency reimburses states for handling floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other calamities.

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Trump signed an order to end birthright citizenship. What is it and what does that mean?

President Donald Trump moved to end a decades-old immigration policy known as birthright citizenship when he ordered the cancellation of the constitutional guarantee that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status.

Trump's roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfillment of something he's talked about during the presidential campaign. But whether it succeeds is far from certain as immigration advocates file lawsuits to block the president.

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Trump administration fires 1,000 workers at National Park Service, raises maintenance concerns

The Trump administration has fired about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other functions as part of its broad-based effort to downsize government.

The firings, which weren't publicly announced but were confirmed by Democratic senators and House members, come amid what has been a chaotic rollout of an aggressive program to eliminate thousands of federal jobs plan led by billionaire Elon Musk and the new Department of Government Efficiency, an outside-government organization designed to slash federal spending. Adding to the confusion, the park service now says it is reinstating about 5,000 seasonal jobs that were initially rescinded last month as part of a spending freeze ordered by President Donald Trump.

Seasonal workers are routinely added during the warm-weather months to serve more than 325 million visitors who descend on the nation's 428 parks, historic sites and other attractions each year.

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Senate confirms Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary, a key role for Trump's trade agenda

The Senate confirmed wealthy financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary Tuesday, putting in place a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump's hardline trade polices.

At the Commerce Department, Lutnick, who was CEO at the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, will oversee 50,000 employees who do everything from collecting economic statistics to running the census to issuing weather reports. But he's likely to spend a lot of time — along with Jamieson Greer, Trump's nominee to be the top U.S. trade negotiator — managing the president's aggressive plans to impose import taxes on U.S. trading partners, including allies and adversaries alike.

The Senate vote to confirm Lutnick was 51-45.

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Senate GOP pushes ahead with budget bill that funds Trump's mass deportations and border wall

Senate Republicans pushed ahead late Tuesday on a scaled-back budget bill, a $340 billion package to give the Trump administration money for mass deportations and other priorities, as Democrats prepare a counter-campaign against the onslaught of actions coming from the White House.

On a party-line vote, 50-47, Republicans launched the process, skipping ahead of the House Republicans who prefer President Donald Trump's approach for a “big, beautiful bill” that includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts that are tops on the party agenda. Senate Republicans plan to deal with tax cuts later, in a second package.

“It’s time to act,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on social media, announcing the plan ahead as the House is on recess week. “Let's get it done.”

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NY, 21 other states sue Trump over birthright citizenship, calling executive order unconstitutional

New York and 21 other states have sued to stop President Donald Trump from ending birthright citizenship — a day after he signed an executive order attempting to gut what has been recognized as a constitutional right for more than 125 years.

The suit in which New York is a plaintiff, filed at U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, asks that enforcement of the order immediately be halted, stopped permanently, and declared unconstitutional and unlawful, according to the office of New York's attorney general Letitia James.

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Trump's executive order gives TikTok a reprieve. What happens next?

President Donald Trump has directed his Justice Department to pause enforcement of the TikTok ban until early April, but a host of questions remain - including whether Trump has the authority to issue such an order and if TikTok’s China-based parent would be amenable to selling the popular social media platform.

In an executive order signed on Monday, Trump instructed the U.S. attorney general to not enforce the ban for 75 days while his administration determines “the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown” of TikTok.

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Trump heads back to Davos, this time virtually, for elite World Economic Forum gathering

Donald Trump is coming back to Davos. This time, virtually.

The freshly reinaugurated U.S. president is to speak Thursday to an international audience for the first time after returning to the White House three days earlier, with a speech and question-and-answer by video conference at the World Economic Forum's annual event.

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More than 100 Indian migrants deported by the U.S. arrive home

AMRITSAR, India — A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived in a northern Indian city on Wednesday, the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration, airport officials said.

The Indians who returned home had illegally entered the United States over the years and came from various Indian states.

The move came ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington, which is expected next week. U.S. President Donald Trump and Modi discussed immigration in a phone call last week and Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trade.

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Protests against Trump and Project 2025 are planned in cities across the U.S.

A movement to oppose the early actions of President Donald Trump’s administration is taking off online, with plans to protest across the U.S. on Wednesday.

The movement has organized under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Many of the protests are planned at state capitols, with some in other cities.

The movement has websites and accounts across social media. Flyers circulating online decry Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society, and include messages such as “reject fascism” and “defend our democracy.” In a coffee shop just a block from Michigan’s Capitol, organizers of a planned action there Wednesday pushed together tables, spreading out poster boards to write messages that read “No Deportations Ever!” and “Workers Unite!”

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USPS lifts suspension of parcels from Hong Kong and China, reversing decision from a day earlier

HONG KONG — The U.S. Postal Service reversed course Wednesday, saying it would continue to accept all inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong. One day earlier, the USPS said it wouldn't be accepting parcels from the China and Hong Kong after the U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and ended a customs exception that allowed small value parcels to enter the U.S. without paying tax. The USPS said Wednesday that it was working with Customs and Border Protection to implement a collection process for the new China tariffs to avoid delivery disruptions.

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Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status.

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship.

The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are U.S. citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won’t become U.S. citizens.

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Senate committee advances ex-wrestling CEO Linda McMahon as Trump's nominee for education secretary

A Senate committee voted Thursday to advance Linda McMahon's nomination to serve as President Donald Trump's education secretary, bringing her closer to leading an agency the Republican president wants to shut down.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12-11 along party lines to send her nomination to be considered by the full Senate.

At her confirmation hearing, McMahon said she wants to “reorient” the Education Department. Since his campaign, Trump has called for the department to be abolished, but McMahon acknowledged that only Congress could shut it down completely.

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Trump says Canada and Mexico tariffs are 'going forward' with more import taxes to come

President Donald Trump said Monday that his tariffs on Canada and Mexico are starting next month, ending a monthlong suspension on the planned import taxes that could potentially hurt economic growth and worsen inflation.

“We’re on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that’s moving along very rapidly,” the U.S. president said at a White House news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

While Trump was answering a specific question about the taxes to be charged on America's two largest trading partners, the U.S. president also stressed more broadly that his intended “reciprocal” tariffs were on schedule to begin as soon as April.

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Hegseth confirmed as Trump's defense secretary in tie-breaking vote despite turmoil over his conduct

The Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as the nation's defense secretary Friday in a dramatic late-night vote, swatting back questions about his qualifications to lead the Pentagon amid allegations of heavy drinking and aggressive behavior toward women.

Rarely has a Cabinet nominee faced such wide-ranging concerns about his experience and behavior as Hegseth, particularly for such a high-profile role atop the U.S. military. But the Republican-led Senate was determined to confirm Hegseth, a former Fox News host and combat veteran who has vowed to bring a “warrior culture” to the Pentagon, rounding out President Donald Trump's top national security Cabinet officials.

Vice President JD Vance was on hand to cast a tie-breaking vote, unusual in the Senate for Cabinet nominees, who typically win wider support. Hegseth himself was at the Capitol with his family.

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Trump orders release of JFK, RFK and MLK assassination records

DALLAS — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental documents about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which has fueled conspiracy theories for decades.

The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The order is among a flurry of executive actions Trump has quickly taken the first week of his second term.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said, “everything will be revealed.”

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Trump wants to know if there's gold in Fort Knox. (There is)

While flying back to Washington aboard Air Force One on Wednesday night, a reporter asked President Donald Trump whether Elon Musk would pursue budget cuts at the Pentagon.

His response might be confusing to anyone who hasn't spent the last several days monitoring Musk's account on X.

Trump said Musk would be looking at Fort Knox, the legendary depository for American gold reserves in Kentucky.

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Trump signs executive order intended to bar transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls' and women’s sports.

The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” gives federal agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administration’s view, which interprets “sex” as the gender someone was assigned at birth.

“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said at a signing ceremony.

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A federal judge in Seattle blocks Trump's effort to halt the refugee admissions system

A federal judge in Seattle blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to halt the nation’s refugee admissions system Tuesday.

The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by major refugee aid groups, who argued that Trump's executive order suspending the federal refugee resettlement program ran afoul of the system Congress created for moving refugees into the U.S.

Lawyers for the administration argued that Trump’s order was well within his authority to deny entry to foreigners whose admission to the U.S. “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

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White House says it 'will decide' which news outlets cover Trump, rotating some traditional ones

The White House said Wednesday that its officials “will decide” which news outlets can regularly cover President Donald Trump up close — a sharp break from a century of tradition in which a pool of independently chosen news organizations go where the chief executive does and hold him accountable on behalf of regular Americans.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the changes would rotate traditional outlets from the group and include some streaming services. She cast the change as a modernization of the press pool, saying the move would be more inclusive and restore “access back to the American people” who elected Trump.

“Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team," Leavitt said at a daily briefing. “A select group of D.C.-based journalists should no longer have a monopoly of press access at the White House.”

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Rubio will skip a G20 meeting after calling host South Africa's policies anti-American

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will skip a two-day meeting of foreign ministers from the leading rich and developing nations that starts on Thursday after criticizing host South Africa's policies as anti-American.

Instead, Rubio was headed back to the United States on Wednesday from his first trip to the Middle East as America’s chief diplomat, and after leading a U.S. delegation in talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia over the war in Ukraine.

Rubio spoke with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the European Union's foreign policy chief to brief them immediately after Tuesday's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the State Department said.

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Meta agrees to pay $25 million to settle lawsuit from Trump after Jan. 6 suspension

Meta has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the company after it suspended his accounts following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to three people familiar with the matter.

It's the latest instance of a large corporation settling litigation with the president, who has threatened retribution on his critics and rivals, and comes as Meta and its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, have joined other large technology companies in trying to ingratiate themselves with the new Trump administration.

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Freeze on federal money for LI nonprofits: Chaos reigns over Trump order

Long Island’s not-for-profit leaders — operators of food pantries and domestic violence shelters, providers of services to veterans, seniors and people with substance use disorders — were whipsawed Wednesday as the White House budget office rescinded a memo freezing some federal grants, a major source of operating funds for many charitable groups.

The retraction was a relief to many who had interpreted the initial notice as potentially impacting trillions of dollars in federal funding. Then the White House appeared to qualify the retraction, saying, while the memo was rescinded, Trump’s underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change remained in place.

"This is NOT a rescission of the federal funding freeze," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote in a social media post. The freeze had been stayed by a federal judge until at least Monday after an emergency hearing requested by nonprofit groups that receive federal grants, and an additional lawsuit by Democratic state attorneys general was pending.

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President Trump sounds the same. His White House — so far — couldn't be more different

The marathon Q&A sessions are back, along with the cream Oval Office rug and the Diet Coke button on the Resolute Desk. So, too, are the late-night social media posts that ricochet across the globe and the barrage of executive orders.

But in 10 days, Donald Trump has frozen federal spending and hiring, offered buyouts to more than two million government workers, and ended federal diversity and transgender-rights efforts. He’s fired nearly two dozen independent inspectors general, rewritten American maps, pardoned Jan. 6 protesters who assaulted police, announced plans to detain migrants at Guantánamo Bay, and undone years of his predecessors' actions with the stroke of his Sharpie pen.

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Trump's funding freeze memo sparked concern, confusion for LI colleges and universities

Officials at Long Island colleges and universities were left scrambling this week, as they struggled to determine what a White House-ordered pause on federal funding for grants and loans could mean for educational programs ranging from scientific research to tutoring.

The original order came in a memo Monday evening from the White House Office of Management and Budget. It announced a temporary freeze of federal dollars to align spending with President Donald Trump’s priorities.

A federal judge on Tuesday delayed the freeze from going into effect until Feb. 3. Then on Wednesday, the Office of Management and Budget rescinded its memo "in an effort to alleviate confusion," the White House said in an email.

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Trump says no right of return for Palestinians in Gaza under his plan for US 'ownership'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Palestinians in Gaza would not have a right to return under his plan for U.S. “ownership” of the war-torn territory, contradicting other officials in his administration who have sought to argue Trump was only calling for the temporary relocation of its population.

Less than a week after he floated his plan for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and turn it in “the Riviera of the Middle East," Trump, in an interview with FOX News' Bret Baier that was set to air on Monday, said “No, they wouldn’t” when asked if Palestinians in Gaza would be have a right to return to the territory. It comes as he has ramped up pressure on Arab states, especially U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, to take in Palestinians from Gaza, who claim the territory as part of a future homeland.

“We’ll build safe communities, a little bit away from where they are, where all of this danger is,” Trump said. “In the meantime, I would own this. Think of it as a real estate development for the future. It would be a beautiful piece of land. No big money spent.”

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With Trump in the White House, Iranians mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution

TEHRAN, Iran — Tens of thousands of Iranians marked the anniversary of the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the first such rally since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and restarted his “maximum pressure” campaign targeting Tehran.

The annual commemoration of the end of the rule of the American-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and the creation of Iran's Shiite theocracy comes this year as deep uncertainty lingers across the country.

Iran faces crushing sanctions wrecking its economy and the threat of more coming from Trump, even as the American president suggests he wants to reach a deal with Tehran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. Iran's currency, the rial, fell to record low of 928,500 rials to $1 in aftermarket trading on Monday, a drop of more than 6% from Friday.

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VA nurses are in short supply. Unions say Trump's deferred resignation plan could make things worse.

For the federal government's largest group of employees — nurses caring for military veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs — the Trump administration's deferred resignation offer and its looming Thursday deadline come amid longstanding staffing shortages, deemed severe at more than half of all facilities.

Unions are discouraging nurses from accepting the offer, and leaders say an exodus would directly and immediately affect the care of its 9.1 million enrolled veterans.

“We’re already facing a staffing crisis in our hospitals,” said Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse who heads the Veterans Affairs unit for National Nurses United. “We cannot afford to lose any more staff.”

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Judge says he will temporarily block Trump from placing 2,200 USAID workers on paid leave

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from placing 2,200 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development on paid leave.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, sided with two federal employee associations in agreeing to a pause in plans to put the employees on paid leave as of midnight Friday.

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19 states sue to stop DOGE accessing Americans' personal data

Nineteen Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump on Friday to stop Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans.

The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musk's team access to the Treasury Department’s central payment system in violation of federal law.

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Gabbard, Trump's pick to oversee U.S. spy agencies, faces sharp questions during confirmation hearing

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's pick to be director of national intelligence, faced sharp criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike Thursday during a fiery confirmation hearing focused on her past comments sympathetic to Russia, her meeting with Syria's now-deposed leader and her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden.

Gabbard started her hearing by telling lawmakers that big changes are needed to address years of failures of America’s intelligence service. She said too often intelligence has been false or politicized, leading to wars, foreign policy failures and the misuse of espionage. And she said those lapses have continued as the U.S. faces renewed threats from Russia and China.

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A presidential first: Trump at the Super Bowl, latest chapter in a complicated legacy with football

As a student, Donald Trump played high school football. As a business baron, he owned a team in an upstart rival to the NFL and then sued the established league. As president, he denigrated pros who took a knee during the national anthem as part of a social justice movement.

On Sunday, he adds to that complicated history with the sport when he becomes the first president in office to attend a Super Bowl.

Trump’s appearance at the Superdome in New Orleans to watch the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles follows the NFL’s decision to remove the “End Racism” slogans that have been stenciled on the end zones since 2021.

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Vance and Musk question the authority of the courts as Trump's agenda faces legal pushback

WASHINGTON — Top Trump administration officials are openly questioning the judiciary's authority to serve as a check on executive power as the new president's sweeping agenda faces growing pushback from the courts.

Over the past 24 hours, officials ranging from billionaire Elon Musk to Vice President JD Vance have not only criticized a federal judge's decision early Saturday that blocks Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records, but have also attacked the legitimacy of judicial oversight, a fundamental pillar of American democracy, which is based on the separation of powers.

“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vance wrote on X on Sunday morning.

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Venezuelan immigrants ask court to block Trump administration from sending them to Guantanamo

Lawyers for three Venezuelan immigrants arrested in New Mexico during President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown have asked a federal court to prevent them from being sent to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

A court filing Sunday says while the men haven't been told they'll be transferred out of the Otero County Processing Center, they have a credible fear that they'll be sent to Guantanamo. Other detainees at the facility run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, were flown to the U.S. naval base in recent days, the document says.

The filing claims the three immigrants “fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantanamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.”

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Supreme Court that Trump helped shape could have the last word on his aggressive executive orders

President Donald Trump will need the Supreme Court, with three justices he appointed, to enable the most aggressive of the many actions he has taken in just the first few weeks of his second White House term.

But even a conservative majority with a robust view of presidential power might balk at some of what the president wants to do.

The court gave Trump major victories last year that helped clear away potential obstacles to his reelection, postponing his criminal trial in Washington, D.C., then affording immunity from prosecution for official actions. But Trump's first term was marked by significant defeats — as well as some wins — at the court.

There's no shortage of issues that could find a path to the nation's highest court. Lower courts already have paused orders on birthright citizenship, a freeze on government grants and loans, and a buyout order for federal workers.

Other lawsuits have been filed over restrictions on transgender people, limits on asylum-seekers, efforts to shutter USAID, Elon Musk and his team's access to sensitive data and the firing of officials at independent federal agencies.

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Trump says he has directed Treasury to stop minting new pennies, citing cost

President Donald Trump says he has directed the Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies, citing the cost of producing the one-cent coin.

“For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!” Trump wrote in a post Sunday night on his Truth Social site. “I have instructed my Secretary of the US Treasury to stop producing new pennies.”

Trump's new administration has been sharply focused on cutting costs, targeting entire agencies and large swaths of the federal workforce for dismissal.

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Judge tells agencies to restore webpages and data removed after Trump's executive order

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered government agencies to restore public access to health-related webpages and datasets that they removed to comply with an executive order by President Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington agreed to issue a temporary restraining order requested by the Doctors for America advocacy group. The judge instructed the government to restore access to several webpages and datasets that the group identified as missing from websites and to identify others that also were taken down “without adequate notice or reasoned explanation.”

On Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an order for agencies to use the term “sex” and not "gender" in federal policies and documents. In response, the Office of Personnel Management's acting director required agency heads to eliminate any programs and take down any websites that promote “gender ideology.”

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Pope's point-man on migration and aid concerned about USAID cuts, alarmed at US migrant crackdown

Pope Francis’ point-man on migration and development has urged the Trump administration to remember Christian principles about caring for others, saying people are being “terrorized” by the U.S. crackdown on migrants and vital church-run aid programs are being jeopardized by the planned gutting of USAID.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, a Czech-born Canadian Jesuit, is one of the cardinals most closely associated with Francis’ pontificate and heads the Vatican office responsible for migrants, the environment, the church’s Caritas Internationalis charity and development.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Czerny said every incoming government has the right to review its foreign aid budget, and to even reform an agency like USAID. But he said it’s another thing to dismantle an agency after it has made funding commitments.

“There are programs underway and expectations and we might even say commitments, and to break commitments is a serious thing,” Czerny said Sunday. “So while every government is qualified to review its budget in the case of foreign aid, it would be good to have some warning because it takes time to find other sources of funding or to find other ways of meeting the problems we have.”

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Third judge blocks Trump's order ending birthright citizenship for kids of people in US illegally

CONCORD, N.H. — A third federal judge on Monday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante in New Hampshire comes after two similar rulings by judges in Seattle and Maryland last week.

Laplante, who was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush, said he wasn't persuaded by the Trump administration's defense of the executive order. He said he would issue a longer preliminary injunction later explaining his reasoning.

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Head of the agency that protects whistleblowers sues Trump, saying his firing was illegal

WASHINGTON — The head of the Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, sued President Donald Trump on Monday, saying he was illegally fired as part of the president’s massive overhaul of the government.

Hampton Dellinger was informed of his firing in an email Friday evening from the White House personnel director, who said he was writing on behalf of the president. Dellinger's termination comes as Trump's Republican administration is testing the limits of well-established civil service protections by moving to dismantle federal agencies and push out staffers

Dellinger notes in his lawsuit, filed in Washington federal court, that special counsels can be removed by the president “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Dellinger was confirmed last year by the Senate for a five-year term to lead the watchdog agency.

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Judge finds Trump administration hasn't fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending

WASHINGTON — A federal judge found Monday that the Trump administration hasn’t fully followed his order to unfreeze federal spending and ordered the White House to release all money.

U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell found there’s evidence that some federal grants and loans are still not going out to the recipients and ordered that the cash be released.

McConnell earlier ordered a halt to Trump administration plans for a sweeping freeze federal funding. The Republican administration has said the pause was necessary to ensure federal spending fits with the president’s agenda.

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US judge keeps Trump plan to push out federal workers on hold

BOSTON — President Donald Trump's plan to downsize the federal workforce remains on hold after a courtroom hearing on Monday afternoon.

It's the latest example of how the Republican president's ambitious plans have become ensnared in the judicial system.

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. had paused the deferred resignation program, commonly described as a buyout, last week.

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Nearly two dozen states sue the Trump administration to halt cuts in medical research funding

BOSTON — Attorneys general from 22 states filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration for slashing funding for medical and public health research at universities nationwide.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston challenges the Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health over efforts to reduce funding that goes to so-called indirect costs — including lab, faculty, infrastructure, and utility costs.

The states argue that research into treating and curing human disease “will grind to a halt" and people would lose access to “modern gene editing, vaccines such as flu vaccines, and cures for diseases like cancer, infectious diseases, and addiction.”

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LI scientists: Trump cuts to biomedical research funding would 'decimate science' in the U.S.

A federal judge Monday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from imposing cuts to medical research that experts said would hobble work on Long Island and across the country intended to help 9/11 survivors and people living with cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases.

A two-page order by Judge Angel Kelley of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts granted a request for a restraining order filed hours earlier by New York State Attorney General Letitia James and 21 other state attorneys general alleging the cuts violated Congressional appropriations law and asking that grant payments continue.

The order sets a Feb. 21 hearing.

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'Back to plastic': Trump pushes for plastic straws as he declares paper ones 'don't work'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is moving to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work.”

Trump signed an executive order Monday, saying: “It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws”

The move by Trump — who has long railed against paper straws, and whose 2019 reelection campaign sold Trump-branded reusable plastic straws for $15 per pack of 10 — targets a Biden administration policy to phase out federal purchases of single-use plastics, including straws, from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.

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Pope rebukes Trump administration over migrant deportations, warns 'it will end badly'

Pope Francis issued a major rebuke Tuesday to the Trump administration’s mass deportation of migrants, warning that the program to forcefully deport people purely because of their illegal status deprives them of their inherent dignity and “will end badly.”

Francis took the remarkable step of addressing the U.S. migrant crackdown in a letter to U.S. bishops who have criticized the expulsions as harming the most vulnerable.

History's first Latin American pope has long made caring for migrants a priority of his pontificate, demanding that countries welcome, protect, promote and integrate those fleeing conflicts, poverty and climate disasters. Francis has also said governments are expected to do so to the limits of their capacity.

Citing the biblical stories of migration, the people of Israel, the Book of Exodus and Jesus Christ’s own experience, Francis affirmed the right of people to seek shelter and safety in other lands and said he was concerned with what is going on in the United States.

“I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations,” Francis wrote. “The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.”

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Trump administration appeals Maryland judge's ruling blocking birthright citizenship order

President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday said it's appealing a Maryland federal judge's ruling blocking the president's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for people whose parents are not legally in the country.

In a brief filing, the administration's attorneys said they were appealing to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. It's the second such appeal the administration has sought since Trump's executive order was blocked in court.

The government's appeal stems from U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman's grant of a preliminary injunction last week in a case brought by immigrant rights groups and expectant mothers in Maryland. Boardman said at the time her court would not become the first in the country to endorse the president's order, calling citizenship a “precious right” granted by the Constitution's 14th Amendment. 

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USAID security leaders on leave after trying to keep Musk's DOGE from classified info, officials say

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has placed two top security chiefs at the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave after they refused to turn over classified material in restricted areas to Elon Musk's government-inspection teams, a current and a former U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Members of Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, eventually did gain access Saturday to the aid agency's classified information, which includes intelligence reports, the former official said.

Musk's DOGE crew lacked high-enough security clearance to access that information, so the two USAID security officials — John Vorhees and deputy Brian McGill — were legally obligated to deny access.

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FBI employees who worked Jan. 6 cases told to describe what they did

FBI officials sent out a questionnaire over the weekend to determine the involvement of thousands of FBI personnel in cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to multiple people who reviewed the document and spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

The online questionnaire landed in inboxes a day after the FBI’s acting director said the bureau would conduct a sweeping examination, at the request of the Justice Department, of anyone who touched the sprawling Jan. 6. investigation.

It is the latest sign that the Trump administration aims to deliver on its promises to make dramatic changes in the law enforcement agency and root out people who Trump or his allies claim acted inappropriately. On Friday, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove asked for a list by Tuesday of all current and former FBI personnel assigned to investigations and prosecutions related to the Capitol attack and a separate terrorism case.

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Trump nominates Ed Martin, an ally who defended Jan. 6 rioters, to stay as top DC federal prosecutor

Conservative activist Ed Martin, who echoed Donald Trump's baseless claims of a stolen 2020 election and defended Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol rioters, was nominated by the president on Monday to be the top federal prosecutor in Washington on a permanent basis.

Martin had been serving as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia on an interim basis since just after Trump, a Republican, was sworn in for his second term on Jan. 20. His appointment must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

“Since Inauguration Day, Ed has been doing a great job as Interim U.S. Attorney, fighting tirelessly to restore Law and Order, and make our Nation’s Capital Safe and Beautiful Again,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. “He will get the job done.”

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Rubio is holding talks in Panama as Trump demands canal control and pressures U.S. neighbors

PANAMA CITY — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is meeting Panama’s president Sunday on the opening stop of his first foreign trip as America's top diplomat as President Donald Trump increases the pressure on Washington's neighbors and allies, including a demand for the Panama Canal to be returned to the United States.

A day after Trump announced he was imposing major tariffs on Canada and Mexico, prompting retaliation from those countries, Rubio was set for perhaps a less confrontational and more diplomatic approach. After talks with President José Raúl Mulino, Rubio planned to tour an energy facility and then the canal, the object of Trump’s intense interest.

Mulino has said there will be no negotiation with the U.S. over ownership of the canal, and some Panamanians have staged protests over Trump's plans. Mulino said he hoped Rubio’s visit would focus on shared interests such as migration and combating drug trafficking.

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Trump's spending moves test authority of Congress

President Donald Trump is moving quickly in his second term to expand his presidential reach, insisting that he has the authority to freeze and determine federal spending, an assertion Democrats called a "power grab" to erode Congress’ power of the purse.

A sweeping freeze on federal grants and spending the White House budget office issued Monday evening has since been rescinded amid public uproar. But Trump's early actions nonetheless have set up the latest legal fight with his opponents over the limits of his presidential authority.

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Mark Zuckerberg will cohost reception with Republican billionaires for Trump inauguration

WASHINGTON — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is cohosting a reception with billionaire Republican donors next week for Donald Trump’s inauguration, the latest sign of the Facebook founder's embrace of the president-elect.

The reception cohosted by Zuckerberg is set for Monday evening, shortly before the inaugural balls, according to two people familiar with the private plans who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

The other cohosts are Miriam Adelson, the Dallas Mavericks owner and widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson; Tilman Fertitta, casino magnate, Houston Rockets owner and Trump's pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to Italy; Todd Ricketts, the co-owner of the Chicago Cubs; and Ricketts' wife, Sylvie Légère.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping will send a special representative to Trump's inauguration

WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, but he is sending Vice President Han Zheng as his special representative.

The decision, announced Friday in China by the foreign ministry, came more than a month after Trump extended the unusual invitation to Xi, a break from tradition since no heads of state have previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration.

“We stand ready to work with the new U.S. government to enhance dialogue and communication, properly manage differences, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, jointly pursue a stable, healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relations and find the right way for the two countries to get along with each other," the ministry's spokesperson said when announcing the decision.

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What to know if you're heading to see the Donald Trump inauguration in person

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will take the oath of office at a noon ceremony on the west front of the U.S. Capitol, facing the National Mall and Washington Monument. The swearing-in ceremony will be followed by an inaugural luncheon with members of Congress inside the Capitol building and a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.

More than 220,000 tickets for the public are being distributed through congressional offices, according to the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers that organizes the quadrennial event.

Here’s what you need to know if you're planning to attend the inauguration.

Trump is planning 100 executive orders starting Day 1 on border, deportations and other priorities

President-elect Donald Trump is preparing more than 100 executive orders starting Day One of the new White House, in what amounts to a shock-and-awe campaign on border security, deportations and a rush of other policy priorities.

Trump told Republican senators about the onslaught ahead during a private meeting on Capitol Hill. Many of the actions are expected to launch on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, when he takes office. Trump top adviser Stephen Miller outlined for the GOP senators the border security and immigration enforcement measures that are likely to launch soonest. Axios first reported on Trump and his team's presentation.

“There will be a substantial number,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D.

Allies of the president-elect have been preparing a stack of executive orders that Trump could sign quickly on a wide range of topics – from the U.S.-Mexico border clampdown to energy development to federal Schedule F workforce rules, school gender policies and vaccine mandates, among other day-one promises made during his campaign.

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Schedule of inauguration events

The pageantry and parties surrounding President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration kick off this weekend with fireworks and a rally before Monday's inaugural ceremony, parade and balls.

A look at the lineup of official inaugural events for the four days surrounding Trump's second inauguration as president. It's unclear how the decision to move Trump's swearing-in indoors to the Capitol Rotunda might affect the scheduled lineup for the ceremony.

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Trump's swearing-in will move inside the Capitol Rotunda because of intense cold

The Rotunda is prepared as an alternative for each inauguration in the event of inclement weather. The swearing-in was last moved indoors in 1985, when President Ronald Reagan began his second term. Monday’s forecast calls for the lowest Inauguration Day temperatures since that day.

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What to watch at Trump's inauguration: Big Tech CEOs, Carrie Underwood and foreign leaders

Donald Trump's inauguration as the country’s 47th president was expected to be an extravagant break from tradition — before it got moved indoors due to cold weather.

There will still be well-known performers, influential billionaires as guests and foreign heads of state. Unlike his first inauguration eight years ago, Trump will be welcomed back to office by business titans and global leaders, groups that often shunned him in his first term.

Here are some things to look out for during Trump’s inauguration.

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Trump inauguration and MLK Day: How social justice activists plan to remember the civil rights icon this year

To some Long Island social justice and civil rights advocates, having Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday take place the same day as Donald Trump's inauguration is a vivid reminder that more work needs to be done.

They told Newsday it was the perfect time to focus on King's unifying legacy; the duality of the two historic moments highlights the need to keep up the fight to eradicate barriers to equality they said still exist for many marginalized people.

Sister Janet Kinney, director of the Long Island Immigration Clinic at the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood, was hopeful at how the two celebrations might intersect.

"I just think it's kind of a happy coincidence," Kinney said. "I just want to live in hope that some of the ideals of the late Dr. King might flow over into this new administration ... I would hope there might be some inspiration that comes out of it."

She added, "It's a wait-and-see right now."

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New York GOP gathers for Donald Trump's inauguration, with an eye toward 2026 election

WASHINGTON — New York Republicans gathered in the nation's capital Sunday to celebrate President-Elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

At a breakfast, speakers including former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman set their sights on 2026, when congressional seats and the governorship will be on the ballot.

"In 2026, we have an opportunity to continue this trend, there's no reason for the pendulum to swing back," Zeldin said, touting Republican gains in New York over the past four years.

Zeldin, who is Trump's nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, told the gathering of state Republicans at The Mayflower Hotel that "the next two years that are ahead of us as New Yorkers is going to require us to recruit the best possible candidates we can up and down this ballot, and it starts with the local elections."

Blakeman, noting Trump's victory in Nassau after losing the county in 2016 and 2020, urged the group to focus on making inroads locally.

"We can't rest on our laurels, we’ve got to take our state back, and the way to do that is county by county," Blakeman said in a speech that drew loud applause.

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Eight years ago, stars avoided Trump's inauguration. This time it's different

Carrie Underwood might not be Beyoncé or Garth Brooks in the celebrity superstar ecosystem. But the singer’s participation in President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is nevertheless a sign of the changing tides, where mainstream entertainers, from Nelly to The Village People are more publicly and more enthusiastically associating with the new administration.

Eight years ago, Trump reportedly struggled to enlist stars to be part of the swearing-in and the various glitzy balls that follow. The concurrent protest marches around the nation had more famous entertainers than the swearing-in, which stood in stark contrast to someone like Barack Obama, whose second inaugural ceremony had performances from Beyoncé, James Taylor and Kelly Clarkson and a series of starry onlookers.

There were always some celebrity Trump supporters, like Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Jon Voight, Rosanne Barr, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone and Dennis Rodman, to name a few. But Trump’s victory this time around was decisive and while Hollywood may always skew largely liberal, the slate of names participating in his inauguration weekend events has improved.

Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, The Village People and Lee Greenwood all performed at a MAGA style rally Sunday. Those performing at inaugural balls include the rapper Nelly, country music band Rascal Flatts, country singer Jason Aldean and singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw.

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Trump says Americans could feel 'some pain' from his new tariffs that are triggering a trade war

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and claimed that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States.

The trade penalties that Trump signed Saturday at his Florida resort caused a mix of panic, anger and uncertainty, and threatened to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China. But by following through on a campaign pledge, Trump may have simultaneously broken his promise to voters in last year's election that his administration could quickly reduce inflation.

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Feds rescind approval for congestion pricing program; MTA takes legal action

President Donald Trump’s administration has rescinded federal approval for New York’s congestion pricing program, potentially spelling the end to the controversial tolling program that has been widely derided by Long Islanders.

In a letter sent Tuesday to Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said that, after reviewing New York’s Central Business District Tolling Program at the direction of Trump, he was rescinding the Federal Highway Administration’s approval of congestion pricing and "terminating the agreement" between New York and the federal government that allowed the tolls to be implemented in January.

But MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said in a statement that the transit authority on Wednesday filed papers in federal court to ensure the tolling program will continue "notwithstanding this baseless effort to snatch" its benefits away from transit users, pedestrians, and drivers.

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DOGE reversal: Firings of US nuclear weapons workers halted

The Trump administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nation's nuclear weapons programs, in an about-face that has left workers confused and experts cautioning that DOGE's blind cost cutting will put communities at risk.

Three U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press said up to 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration were abruptly laid off late Thursday, with some losing access to email before they'd learned they were fired, only to try to enter their offices on Friday morning to find they were locked out. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

One of the hardest hit offices was the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, which saw about 30% of the cuts. Those employees work on reassembling warheads, one of the most sensitive jobs across the nuclear weapons enterprise, with the highest levels of clearance.

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Trump plans to cut U.S. funding to South Africa over contentious land law

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will cut all funding to South Africa and has launched an investigation into the country's polices, claiming a “massive" human rights violation is happening over a new land expropriation law.

Trump made the pledge to stop all future funding on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, writing: “South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY."

In South Africa, Trump wrote, a ”massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. The United States won’t stand for it, we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!”

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Senate panel advances nomination of Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Thursday to advance the nomination of Kash Patel, Donald Trump's pick for FBI director, pushing past Democratic concerns that he would operate as a loyalist for the president and target perceived adversaries of the White House.

The committee voted 12-10 to send the nomination to the Republican-controlled Senate for full consideration.

It was not immediately clear when the final confirmation vote will occur, but so far even nominees once seen as having uncertain prospects — including new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence — have been able to marshal sufficient support from Republicans eager to fall in line with Trump's agenda.

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Trump administration will consider redrawing boundaries of national monuments as part of energy push

As part of the Trump administration’s push to expand U.S. energy production, federal officials will review and consider redrawing the boundaries of national monuments created under previous presidents to protect unique landscapes and cultural resources.

The review — laid out in a Monday order from new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — is raising alarms among conservation groups concerned that President Donald Trump will shrink or eliminate monuments established by his predecessors, including Democrat Joe Biden.

Burgum gave agency officials until Feb. 18 to submit plans on how to comply with his order.

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Trump and Musk demand termination of federal office leases through General Services Administration

One of the next moves in President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's sweeping effort to fire government employees and curtail operations is using the agency that manages thousands of federal employee worksites around the country to cut down on office space.

Last week, regional managers for the General Services Administration, or GSA, received a message from the agency's Washington headquarters to begin terminating leases on all of the roughly 7,500 federal offices nationwide, according to an email shared with The Associated Press by a GSA employee.

The order seems to contradict Trump’s own return-to-office mandate for federal employees, adding confusion to what was already a scramble by the GSA to find workspace, internet connections and office building security credentials for employees who had been working remotely for years.

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What to know about the court cases over President Trump's birthright citizenship order

SEATTLE — A federal judge who already questioned the constitutionality of President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship executive order is set to hear arguments Thursday over a longer-term pause of the directive, which aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle has scheduled a hearing involving lawyers from the Trump administration, four states suing to stop the order, and an immigrant rights organization, which is challenging it on behalf of a proposed class of expectant parents.

The latest proceeding comes just a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case involving immigrants' rights groups and pregnant women whose soon-to-born children could be affected.

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FBI agents sue over Justice Dept. effort to ID employees involved in Trump-related investigations

WASHINGTON — FBI agents who participated in investigations related to President Donald Trump have sued over Justice Department efforts to develop a list of employees involved in those inquiries that they fear could be a precursor to mass firings.

The class-action complaint, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, seeks an immediate halt to the Justice Development's plans to compile a list of investigators who participated in probes of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol as well as Trump's hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

The lawsuit notes that Trump on the campaign trail “repeatedly stated that he would personify ‘the vengeance’ or ‘the retribution,’ for those whom he called ‘political hostages,’ for their actions during the Jan. 6 attack.”

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China renews threat to retaliate against U.S. tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with Canada, Mexico and China is ramping up over the production and importation of the opiate fentanyl, along with trade surpluses and illegal border crossings by migrants from across the globe.

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Trump envoy calls Gaza rebuilding timeline in Israel-Hamas truce 'preposterous'

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy said Tuesday that a three to five year timeline for reconstruction of Gaza, as set out in a temporary truce agreement, is not viable as the U.S. administration reiterated its call for Arab nations to temporarily relocate displaced Palestinians in the war-torn territory.

“To me, it is unfair to explain to Palestinians that they might be back in five years,” Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters. “That’s just preposterous.”

The renewed call by the Trump administration on Arab nations to relocate displaced Palestinians comes as Trump is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House later Tuesday.

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Trump won't block immigration arrests in houses of worship. Now these 27 religious groups are suing

More than two-dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans — ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists — filed a federal court lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests at houses of worship.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programs. The result, says the suit, infringes on the groups’ religious freedom — namely their ability to minister to migrants, including those in the United States illegally.

“We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented,” said the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

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Trump tariffs rattle small business owners already dealing with tight margins

President Donald Trump's continued roll out of a wide array of tariffs is rattling small business owners already dealing with tight profit margins.

Trump on Monday announced a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum and promised more import duties to come. Last week, the administration imposed a , 10% tariff on Chinese goods coming into the U.S.

Sandra Payne, owner of Denver Concrete Vibrator, imports steel and other raw materials for her business. Her company makes tools to settle concrete and other industrial tools. Most of the steel the company uses comes from China, and she gets material from Canada and Mexico, too.

“Small businesses run on very small margins. And so a 25% increase in any product is going to hurt," she said. “And we can’t just raise our prices every time the cost goes up to us. So we are losing a lot of money.”

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Trump administration owes US business millions in unpaid bills amid USAID shutdown, lawsuit says

The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development is stiffing American businesses on hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid bills for work that has already been done, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The administration’s abrupt freeze on foreign aid also is forcing mass layoffs by U.S. suppliers and contractors for USAID, including 750 furloughs at one company, Washington-based Chemonics International, the lawsuit says.

“One cannot overstate the impact of that unlawful course of conduct: on businesses large and small forced to shut down their programs and let employees go; on hungry children across the globe who will go without; on populations around the world facing deadly disease; and on our constitutional order,” the U.S. businesses and organizations said.

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Federal judge allows Trump's mass firings of federal workers to move forward

U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper decided Thursday he could not grant a motion from unions representing the workers to temporarily block the layoffs. He found that their complaint amounted to an employment dispute and must follow a different process outlined in federal employment law.

Cooper acknowledged that the Republican president's second term “has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society.”

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Attendees escape the cold for inauguration watch parties in Washington

Inauguration viewing parties have sprung up in restaurants, coffee shops and even hotel bars surrounding the Capital One Arena as Trump supporters seek shelter from the frigid weather.

More than a hundred people gathered at the Westin, grabbing coffee and food as they watched the inauguration on TV.

Over at The Capital Grille, the meeting spot for New York State Republicans not attending the swearing-in ceremony, the spread included prime rib and shrimp and oysters chilled on a giant block of ice carved in the shape of an elephant.

At the bar, Patrick Reilly, 55, a telecommunications executive from Massapequa Park who lives in Rochester, was feeling buoyant.

“A lot of us feel it’s a new day," Reilly said. "We’ve been heard and our guy's back.”

He said he hoped Trump would act fast on campaign promises on “the border, taxes, crime,” perhaps sending the military to the border under an executive order. “We’ve got to stop illegal immigration, bring them in under a legal process,” Reilly said.

Former senate candidate Mike Sapraicone, 68, of North Hills, said that Trump, hours away from being sworn in as the 47th President, looked “enthusiastic, pumped up, ready to hit the ground running.”
Sapraicone said that Trump would address issues important to Long Islanders like crime, economy and illegal immigration. “People are tired of feeling unsafe in their homes and on the subway,” he said. They’re of footing the bill for people who come into this country illegally.”

NY GOP lauds Trump's speech, chants 'hey, hey goodbye' to Biden

At the New York GOP watch party, chants of “hey, hey hey, goodbye” could be heard as Biden appeared on television screens.

Mike LiPetri, 34, of Farmingdale, former candidate for 3rd District and a state assemblyman, said Trump had given listeners “a vision for our future” that focused on “creating safe and affordable communities.”

LiPetri said Long Islanders in his district had suffered at the hands of undocumented immigrants, including members of a Chilean gang who had burglarized houses in the area. He said a “mass exodus” of Long Islanders over the last four years was proof that Biden’s economic policies had failed.

Biden leaves Capitol on Marine One chopper 

Former President Joe Biden departs the Capitol as President Trump moves swiftly to implement his new agenda. Trump, alongside first lady Melania Trump, accompanied the Bidens to the Marine One chopper. Biden left the Capitol just after 1 p.m. 

Watch: LI native Christopher Macchio sings at Inauguration Day

Watch Now • 1:59

LI native Christopher Macchio, 'America's Tenor,' sings at Trump inauguration

A look at false and misleading claims Trump made during his inaugural address

In his first address after being sworn in on Monday, President Donald Trump repeated several false and misleading statements that he made during his campaign. They included claims about immigration, the economy, electric vehicles and the Panama Canal. Here’s a look at the facts.

Trump repeats unfounded claim about immigrants

CLAIM: Trump, a Republican, said that the U.S. government "fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world.”

THE FACTS: There is no evidence other countries are sending their criminals or mentally ill across the border.

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Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman praises Trump's speech

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman praised President Trump's inaugural speech, declaring it the "most uplifting and powerful Inaugural speech since George Washington." 

"Simply fabulous!" Blakeman tweeted on X. 

Trump held a campaign rally in September at Nassau Coliseum. 

Trump ends CBP One

The Trump administration Monday ended use of a border app called CBP One that has allowed nearly 1 million people to legally enter the United States with eligibility to work.

A notice on the website of Customs and Border Protection on Monday just after Trump was sworn in let users know that the app that had been used to allow migrants to schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available. The notice said that existing appointments have been canceled.

The move adheres to a promise Trump made during his campaign and will please critics who say it was an overly generous magnet for more people to come to Mexico’s border with the United States.

The CBP One app had been wildly popular.

It is an online lottery system to give appointments to 1,450 people a day at eight border crossings. They enter on immigration “parole,” a presidential authority that Joe Biden used more than any other president since it was introduced in 1952.

Suozzi says Trump's immigration remarks should be 'shared priorities'

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said after attending President Donald Trump's inauguration Monday that while he disagreed with "many" parts of Trump's speech, he approved of his key remarks about immigration.

"I agree with the President's emphasis on stopping illegal immigration, deporting criminals and targeting the cartels and organized crime profiting from human exploitation at the southern border," Suozzi wrote in an X post. "These should be shared priorities for our nation."

Suozzi, a moderate Democrat beginning his fourth full term in the House, was one of the first members of his party to forcefully speak out against former President Joe Biden's handling of the southern border. Running in an early 2024 special election to reclaim his old seat, Suozzi was successful by creating space between his immigration policies and those of the Biden administration.

Suozzi last year completed the remaining term of ex-GOP Rep. George Santos before being elected again in November.

Get your Trump hats, shirts — even stuffed animals

Memorabilia vendors did brisk business on the streets around Trump inaugural festivities Monday.

At 13th and F streets, along the parade route, Shawn Emmons, of Nashua, New Hampshire, said he’d made about 150 sales: “hats, shirts, Trump stuffed animals.”

The $15 Trump inauguration stocking cap was his top seller, he noted.

Outside Capitol One Arena, where Trump gave his inaugural address, vendors hustled to tried to sell their last souvenirs.

At 4 p.m. Monday, the once-crowded area — where people had lined up for hours — slowly emptied out as cleaning crews went to work.

Folding chairs and bags left behind were piled on the street outside the venue. Due to changes in bag allowances, many people just threw their bags outside the arena in order to go in.

As a result, scavengers could be seen looking through many of them for money, before work crews could reach them.

Now a private citizen, Biden urges backers to 'stay with it'

Former President Joe Biden thanked supporters before he headed to California for a vacation, his first as a private citizen.

"There are up and downs, but we have to stay with it," Biden told staffers. "My dad taught me that a measure of a person -- you heard me say this before -- is how quickly they get back up when they get knocked down."

Biden also gestured the sign of the cross when referencing Trump's Inauguration Day speech, drawing laughs.

Trump heads to Capital One Arena

Trump is now leaving the Capitol. He’s expected to head next to the inaugural parade at Capital One Arena.

Supporters have been there all day, watching video of the swearing-in and other events.

Hegseth calls NATO membership for Ukraine unrealistic

BRUSSELS — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said NATO membership for Ukraine was unrealistic and in sweeping remarks suggested that the way forward for Ukraine was for the country to abandon hopes of a return to its pre-2014 borders and prepare for a negotiated settlement with Russia — one that should be backed up with an international force of troops.

Hegseth made the comments Wednesday during the first trip to NATO and the Ukraine Defense Contact Group by a member of the new Trump administration. Allies have been waiting to hear how much continued military and financial support Washington intends to provide to Ukraine’s government.

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Trump doubles down on plan to empty Gaza

CAIRO — Behind U.S. President Donald Trump’s vows to turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” lies a plan to forcibly drive a population from its land, rights groups say, warning it could be a war crime under international law.

Trump doubled down this week on his vows to empty Gaza permanently of its more than 2 million Palestinians, saying they would not be allowed to return and suggesting at one point he might force Egypt and Jordan to take them in by threatening to cut off U.S. aid.

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Modi and Trump's friendly rapport may be tested 

NEW DELHI — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s longstanding bonhomie with President Donald Trump could be tested as the Indian leader kicks off a visit to Washington on Wednesday, eager to avoid tariffs that have been slapped on others and threats of further taxes and imports.

India, a key strategic partner of the United States, has so far been spared any new tariffs, and the two leaders have cultivated a personal relationship. Modi — a nationalist criticized over India’s democratic backsliding — has welcomed Trump's return to the White House, seeking to reset India’s relationship with the West over his refusal to condemn Russia for its war on Ukraine.
 

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Japan says it has asked U.S. to exclude it from tariffs

TOKYO — Japan 's government said Wednesday it asked the U.S. to exclude it from 25% steel and aluminum tariffs, a change from duty-free quotas that Tokyo was given previously.

Japan made the request through its embassy in Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump removed the exceptions and exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel imports to a minimum of 25%, while hiking aluminum tariffs to 25% from 10%.

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Trump White House rescinds order freezing federal grants after widespread confusion

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's budget office on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The Monday evening order from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn't be subject to a pause in funding.

The people, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal guidance, confirmed that the OMB pulled the order Wednesday in a two sentence notice to agencies and departments.

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Trump directing the opening of Guantanamo Bay detention center to hold migrants in U.S. illegally

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is directing the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States.

Trump made the announcement right before he signed the Laken Riley Act into law as his administration’s first piece of legislation. The bipartisan measure means that people who are in the U.S. illegally and are accused of theft and violent crimes would have to be detained and potentially deported even before a conviction.

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How Elon Musk's crusade against government could benefit Tesla

Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied Tesla, his electric car company, and its efforts to create fleets of robotaxis and other self-driving automobiles.

Now, Musk’s close relationship with President Donald Trump means many of those federal headaches could vanish within weeks or months.

On the potential chopping block: crash investigations into Tesla’s partially automated vehicles; a Justice Department criminal probe examining whether Musk and Tesla have overstated their cars’ self-driving capabilities; and a government mandate to report crash data on vehicles using technology like Tesla’s Autopilot.

The consequences of such actions could prove dire, say safety advocates who credit the federal investigations and recalls with saving lives.

“Musk wants to run the Department of Transportation,” said Missy Cummings, a former senior safety adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “I’ve lost count of the number of investigations that are underway with Tesla. They will all be gone.”

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Egypt announces emergency Arab summit after Trump's Gaza plan infuriates key allies

CAIRO — Egypt announced Sunday that it will host an emergency Arab summit on Feb. 27 to discuss “new and dangerous developments” after U.S. President Donald Trump proposed to resettle Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Trump's suggestion, made at a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, infuriated the Arab world, including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia — key allies of Washington.

Both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Jordanian King Abdullah II dismissed Trump’s call to resettle 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza and for the U.S. to take ownership of the enclave, but Trump claims that they would eventually accept it.

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Big Oil wants a lot from Trump. It has an ally in Doug Burgum, the president's Interior pick.

When North Dakota's petroleum association was going to hold a banquet honoring top fracking executives last year, it turned to Gov. Doug Burgum. The two-term Republican, now President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Interior Department, co-hosted the event — at the governor's mansion.

And when energy industry lobbyists were looking for help taking on Biden administration greenhouse gas rules, they also turned to Burgum. In an email to Burgum's office seeking the legal heft the state could provide, an industry lobbyist argued that “combating” such regulations required “a one-two punch" from industry and government.

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Trump will host Jordan's King Abdullah II as he escalates pressure on his Gaza resettlement plan

President Donald Trump will host Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday as he escalates pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza — perhaps permanently — as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.

The visit is happening at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza as Hamas, accusing Israel of violating the truce, has said it is pausing future releases of hostages and as Trump has called for Israel to resume fighting if all those remaining in captivity are not freed by this weekend.

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More active duty troops will head to US-Mexico border, bringing the total to 3,600

Trump says he is serious about Canada becoming 51st state in Super Bowl interview

President Donald Trump said he is serious about wanting Canada to become the 51st state in an interview that aired Sunday during the Super Bowl preshow.

“Yeah it is,” Trump told Fox News Channel’s Bret Baier when asked whether his talk of annexing Canada is “a real thing" — as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently suggested.

“I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen," he said. "Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada?”

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Ukraine and US have agreed on a framework economic deal, Ukrainian officials say

Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include the exploitation of rare earth minerals, three senior Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.

The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. One of them said that Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support that Ukraine urgently needs.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Macron got no promises on Ukraine but called his meeting with Trump a 'turning point'

French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Washington seeking to convince U.S. President Donald Trump to stand by Europe’s side in his talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine. As Macron left the White House, he called the meeting a “turning point” — yet Trump made no promises.

Macron was the first European leader to visit Trump since his reelection, aiming to capitalize on their relationship to urge Trump not to “be weak” in dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump’s recent statements that echo Putin’s narrative and plans to have direct negotiations with Moscow have left European allies and Ukrainian officials worried. Following Monday's meeting, Macron praised Trump’s move towards Putin in an interview on Fox News, saying it may lead to a truce between Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson isn't sure uneasy GOP lawmakers can push Trump's 'big' agenda forward

Against the odds, House Speaker Mike Johnson is trying Tuesday to muscle a Republican budget blueprint to passage, a step toward delivering President Donald Trump's “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts over stiff opposition from Democrats — and even some Republicans.

With almost no votes to spare in Johnson's bare-bones GOP majority, the speaker is fighting on all fronts — against Democrats, uneasy rank-and-file Republicans and skeptical GOP senators — as he works to keep the package on track. Votes set for Tuesday evening are in jeopardy.

“There may be a vote tonight, there may not be,” Johnson said after a early meeting at the Capitol.

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Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE

WASHINGTON — More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.”

“We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.”

The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump's administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them.

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Nearly 40% of contracts canceled by DOGE are expected to produce no savings

Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that the Trump administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration's own data shows.

The Department of Government Efficiency run by Elon Musk last week published an initial list of 1,125 contracts that it terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE's “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 417 in all, are expected to yield no savings.

That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so.

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Hegseth says he fired the top military lawyers because they weren't well suited for the jobs

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that he was replacing the top lawyers for the military services because he didn't think they were “well-suited” to provide recommendations when lawful orders are given.

Speaking at the start of a meeting with Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Hegseth refused to answer a question about why the Trump administration has selected a retired general to be the next Joint Chiefs chairman, when he doesn't meet the legal qualifications for the job.

President Donald Trump on Friday abruptly fired the chairman, Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., and Hegseth followed that by firing Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations, and Air Force Gen. James Slife, the vice chief of the Air Force. He also said he was “requesting nominations” for the jobs of judge advocate general, or JAG, for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

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EU vows U.S. tariffs 'will not go unanswered' and will trigger tough countermeasures

European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday that U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum “will not go unanswered,” adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-nation bloc.

“The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers,” von der Leyen said in a statement in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum the previous day.

“Tariffs are taxes — bad for business, worse for consumers,” von der Leyen said. “Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered — they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures.”

Trump's Cabinet members have already backtracked on some promises made before being confirmed

As they mustered support for their confirmations by the U.S. Senate, some of President Donald Trump's appointees made statements from which they've already distanced themselves upon taking office.

From the leadership of the FBI to vaccine schedules and Russia sanctions, here's a look at some of those promises and the subsequent action in their own words.

Requests for comment with all four agencies on their chiefs’ remarks were not immediately returned Monday afternoon.

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The few Republicans who still oppose Trump gather in search of a path to oppose him

WASHINGTON — Conservatives from across the country filled a ballroom a few blocks from the White House and lamented that the United States is abandoning the ideals that forged a great nation. Some attendees donned red hats with various inscriptions mocking President Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement.

It was the largest gathering to date of the “Principles First Summit,” expanded upon Trump’s second term to welcome independents and center-left Democrats under a shared pro-democracy, anti-authoritarian aim.

“This is not a time to bend the knee, to play along,” said Heath Mayo, the Yale-educated attorney who founded Principles First five years ago for self-identified politically homeless conservatives. “This is a time for stiffening your spine, standing up and getting ready for a long fight.”

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Judge blocks Trump immigration policy allowing arrests in churches for some religious groups

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge on Monday blocked immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations in houses of worship for Quakers and a handful of other religious groups.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chang found that the Trump administration policy could violate their religious freedom and should be blocked while a lawsuit challenging it plays out.

The preliminary injunction from the Maryland-based judge only applies to the plaintiffs, which also include a Georgia-based network of Baptist churches and a Sikh temple in California.

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Venezuela sends 2 planes to US to return migrants, signaling a potential improvement in relations

Two Venezuelan planes flew to the United States on Monday and returned home with deported Venezuelans, signaling a possible improvement in relations between longtime diplomatic adversaries and a victory for President Donald Trump in his efforts to get more countries to take their people back.

The U.S. and Venezuelan governments separately confirmed the flights by Venezuelan airline Conviasa without saying how many were aboard or disclosing their routes.

“Flights of Illegal Aliens to Venezuela Resume,” the White House said in a post on the “X” platform, saying they were overseen by Richard Grennell, a top Trump adviser who recently traveled to Venezuela.

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Trump steps up his 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum, risking inflation on promise of more jobs

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday removed the exceptions and exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on steel, meaning that all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%. Trump also hiked his 2018 aluminum tariffs to 25% from 10%.

“We were being pummeled by both friend and foe alike,” Trump said as he signed two proclamations changing his orders during his first term. “It's time for our great industries to come back to America.”

The moves are part of an aggressive push by the president to reset global trade, with Trump saying that tax hikes on the people and companies buying foreign-made products will ultimately strengthen domestic manufacturing. But the tariffs would hit allies as the four biggest sources of steel imports are Canada, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute.

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Trump's abrupt change of U.S. policy on Ukraine raises questions about Taiwan support

U.S. President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal of three years of American policy toward Ukraine has raised concerns China might become emboldened to push its territorial claim on Taiwan, though experts say Beijing is most likely in a wait-and-see mode right now to see how the situation in Europe plays out.

In the past two weeks, Trump has falsely claimed Ukraine “should have never started the war,” said Ukraine “may be Russian someday” and questioned the legitimacy of President Volodmyr Zelenskyy's government, while upending the longstanding American position of isolating Russia over its aggression by beginning direct talks with Moscow and voicing positions sounding remarkably like the Kremlin's own.

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Federal workers sue over Elon Musk's threat to fire them if they don't explain their accomplishments

WASHINGTON — Attorneys for federal workers said Monday in a lawsuit that billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk had violated the law with his weekend demand that employees explain their accomplishments or risk being fired.

The updated lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in California and was provided to The Associated Press, is trying to block mass layoffs pursued by Musk and President Donald Trump, including any connected to the email distributed by the Office of Personnel Management on Saturday. The office, which functions as a human resources agency for the federal government, said employees needed to detail five things that they did last week by end of day on Monday.

“No OPM rule, regulation, policy, or program has ever, in United States history, purported to require all federal workers to submit reports to OPM,” said the amended complaint, which was filed on behalf of unions, businesses veterans, and conservation groups. It called the threat of mass firings “one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”

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Ex-Secret Service agent and conservative media personality Dan Bongino picked as FBI deputy director

Dan Bongino, a former U.S. Secret Service agent who has penned best-selling books, ran unsuccessfully for office and gained fame as a conservative pundit with TV shows and a popular podcast, has been chosen to serve as FBI deputy director.

President Donald Trump announced the appointment Sunday night in a post on his Truth Social platform, praising Bongino as “a man of incredible love and passion for our Country.” He called the announcement “great news for Law Enforcement and American Justice.”

The selection places two staunch Trump allies atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency at a time when Democrats are concerned that the president could seek to target his adversaries. Bongino would serve under Kash Patel, who was sworn in as FBI director at the White House on Friday and who has signaled his intent to reshape the bureau, including by relocating hundreds of employees from its Washington headquarters and placing greater emphasis on the FBI's traditional crime-fighting duties.

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US pressures Ukraine to nix its UN resolution demanding Russian forces withdraw

The U.S. has pressured Ukraine to withdraw its European-backed U.N. resolution demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine in favor of an American proposal that does not mention Moscow’s invasion, a U.S. official and a European diplomat said Sunday.

But Ukraine refused to pull its draft resolution, and the U.N. General Assembly will vote on it Monday, the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, two European diplomats said.

The 193-nation General Assembly then is expected to vote on the U.S. draft resolution, according to the diplomats and the U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because private negotiations are still ongoing.

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Trump is expected to pardon ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich 5 years after commuting his sentence

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday will pardon Democratic former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to a person familiar with his plans.

Trump commuted Blagojevich’s 14-year sentence for political corruption charges during his first term. He planned to sign the pardon on Monday afternoon, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss the pardon publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Blagojevich was convicted on charges that included seeking to sell an appointment to then-President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat and trying to shake down a children’s hospital.

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'Dark MAGA' spreads as conservatives embrace Musk's influence on Trump

OXON HILL, Md. — At an annual gathering of conservative activists, the signature red “ Make America Great Again ” hats popularized by President Donald Trump were interspersed with a noticeable number of the black “Dark MAGA” hats made popular by Elon Musk.

It was just one sign of Musk's emerging influence and how the world's wealthiest man — who once backed Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden — has become a conservative power center in his own right due to his connections to Trump.

“He is an authentic and unique individual. I am glad he is on the team,” said Whitney Mason, a 62-year-old real estate agent who was traveling from Seattle.

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Key agencies, including some led by Trump loyalists, refuse to comply with Musk's latest demand

NEW YORK — Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI and State Department, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musk's demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their jobs.

That resistance has intensified a pervasive sense of chaos and confusion, while highlighting a potential power struggle among President Donald Trump's allies, that is affecting federal employees across the country as a new workweek is about to begin.

Musk's team sent an email to hundreds of thousands of federal employees on Saturday giving them roughly 48 hours to report five specific things they had accomplished last week. In a separate message on X, Musk said any employee who failed to respond by the deadline — set in the email as 11:59 p.m. EST Monday — would lose their job.

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Hegseth defends Trump's firings of Pentagon leaders and says there may be more dismissals

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is defending President Donald Trump 's firing of the nation's senior military officer and a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon, insisting that they weren't unusual despite accusations that the new administration is injecting politics into the military.

“Nothing about this is unprecedented," Hegseth told “Fox News Sunday” about Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. being dismissed Friday night as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “The president deserves to pick his key national security advisory team.”

Hegseth said “there are lots of presidents who made changes” citing former commanders in chief from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama who the defense secretary said “fired or dismissed hundreds” of military officials.

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States threaten fines and jail time for local officials who resist Trump's immigration crackdown

Republican state lawmakers seeking to aid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration are threatening local officials who resist with lawsuits, fines and even potential jail time.

Lawmakers in more than 20 states this year have filed legislation targeting so-called sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.

Some of those states already ban sanctuary policies but are now proposing to punish mayors, council members and other government officials who violate the prohibition.

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The leaders of France and Britain head to Washington to urge Trump not to abandon Ukraine

The leaders of France and Britain are making tag-team visits to Washington this week as Europe attempts to persuade President Donald Trump not to abandon Ukraine in pursuit of a peace deal in the three-year-old war with Russia.

There is an element of good cop, bad cop in efforts by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron to salvage American support for Kyiv.

Starmer, reluctant to openly confront Trump, speaks of being a bridge between Europe and the U.S. administration. Macron has more strongly criticized Trump’s recent statements that echo Russia’s narrative and American moves to negotiate with Moscow while sidelining Ukraine.

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Musk gives all federal workers 48 hours to explain what they did last week or face consequences

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers have been given little more than 48 hours to explain what they accomplished over the last week, sparking confusion across key agencies as billionaire Elon Musk expands his drive to slash the size of federal government.

Musk, who serves as President Donald Trump's cost-cutting chief, telegraphed the extraordinary request Saturday on his social media network.

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk posted on X, which he owns. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

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Musk's rapid-fire cuts draw challenges, questions

On his first day back as president, Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency to dramatically shrink the size of government, and in its first month of operation it has cut the federal workforce by an estimated 200,000 employees.

Known by its acronym DOGE and led by billionaire Elon Musk, the agency began sending out teams on Feb. 1 to sift through agencies' staffing and sometimes access sensitive data, and 12 days later, the firing of thousands of probationary employees with no job protection began.

Trump and Musk’s swift freezing of government-funded programs and firing of the people who help run them has won applause among Republicans and condemnation by Democrats — and led to dozens of lawsuits and several judicial temporary restraining orders.

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Ukrainians on LI 'deeply concerned' about U.S. policy shift on homeland

As Long Island’s Ukrainians and their supporters approach the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion, their horror over the war’s ongoing toll is unchanged. But now it is accompanied by unsettling questions over United States support for the Ukraine war effort.

That is partly because Washington — long the linchpin of international backing for Kyiv and the isolation of Moscow — appears to be reversing elements of its foreign policy, planning not just ceasefire negotiations but also warmer relations with the Kremlin in talks by high-level officials this week that took place without Ukrainian officials.

It is also because President Donald Trump, in a news conference days before the anniversary of the Feb. 24 invasion, falsely blamed Kyiv for starting the war. Many in Long Island’s community of Ukrainian immigrants and refugees were gobsmacked.

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Judge upholds ban on DOGE accessing sensitive Treasury information, for now

A federal judge in Manhattan on Friday extended a ban on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency accessing sensitive Treasury Department information, but rejected broader restrictions sought by 19 Democratic state attorneys general who sued over the issue.

Judge Jeannette A. Vargas issued a preliminary injunction but said she may lift the ban — which she initially put in place earlier this month — if the Treasury Department certifies by March 24 that DOGE members have received required cybersecurity training.

Vargas said DOGE’s efforts to modernize Treasury payment systems were not undercut by the delay, which she said was meant to ensure the security of sensitive personal data for millions of Americans.

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Gov. Kathy Hochul and President Donald Trump talk congestion pricing, immigration in White House meeting

Gov. Kathy Hochul met Friday with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office for what her spokesman called "a frank, candid conversation" about topics such as immigration and congestion pricing.

The spokesman, Avi Small, said the meeting was in the afternoon and lasted for more than an hour. The two discussed "New York’s key priorities including congestion pricing, immigration, infrastructure, economic development, energy, offshore wind and nuclear power," he said in a message.

Small said that Hochul gave Trump, whose administration on Wednesday moved to revoke permission for congestion pricing, a book about the program's success.

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Trump-Putin summit preparations are underway, Russia says as Washington ends isolation of Moscow

Preparations are underway for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin, Russia's deputy foreign minister said Saturday, marking a dramatic shift away from Western isolation of Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

Speaking to Russian state media, Sergei Ryabkov said a possible Putin-Trump summit could involve broad talks on global issues, not just the war in Ukraine.

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Trump says he will announce 25% steel and aluminum tariffs Monday, and more import duties are coming

President Donald Trump said he will announce on Monday that the United States will impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, including from Canada and Mexico, as well as other import duties later in the week.

“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25% tariff,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. When asked about aluminum, he responded, “aluminum, too” will be subject to the trade penalties.

Trump also reaffirmed that he would announce “reciprocal tariffs” —“probably Tuesday or Wednesday" — meaning that the U.S. would impose import duties on products in cases where another country has levied duties on U.S. goods.

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Cuts to World Trade Center Health Program are reversed after bipartisan push

Employees and research contracts cut last week from the federal program that monitors and treats 9/11 first responders have been restored, officials confirmed Friday.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Benjamin Haynes told Newsday in an email that 11 employees of the World Trade Center Health Program will return to work "to ensure that those people affected by the September 11th attacks in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, continue to receive critical, high-quality and compassionate medical monitoring and treatment of WTC-related health conditions."

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Justice Department files complaint against judge weighing challenge to Trump's transgender troop ban

The Justice Department filed a complaint Friday accusing a federal judge in Washington of misconduct during hearings over President Donald Trump's executive order that calls for banning transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military.

The complaint filed by Attorney General Pam Bondi's chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, marks an escalation of the Republican administration's criticism of the judiciary, which has been been weighing a slew of legal challenges to the Republican president's actions.

The complaint to the chief judge of Washington’s federal court accuses U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes of inappropriately questioning a government lawyer about his religious beliefs and trying to “embarrass” the attorney with a rhetorical exercise during an exchange about discrimination. It is seeking an investigation, saying “appropriate action" should be taken to ensure that future hearings are conducted with the “dignity and impartiality the public has a right to expect.”

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How Republican skeptics in the Senate got to 'yes' on RFK Jr. and Gabbard

WASHINGTON — Republican skepticism in the Senate of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees has been worn down, putting his unconventional choices for some of the most powerful positions in the federal government on the verge of confirmation.

Floor votes are expected this week on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in line to be the nation's health secretary, and Tulsi Gabbard, the choice for director of national intelligence. Both are from outside traditional Republican circles and espoused views in the confirmation process that alarmed GOP senators at times. Still, their nominations have advanced to the full Senate after crucial committee votes.

One by one, Republicans have acquiesced to Trump's picks, even those whose personal history, lack of experience and unorthodox views would have once made them hardly imaginable for a Cabinet.

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Elon Musk dodges DOGE scrutiny while expanding his power in Washington

Elon Musk made a clear promise after Donald Trump decided to put him in charge of making the government more efficient.

“It’s not going to be some sort of backroom secret thing,” Musk said last year. “It will be as transparent as possible," maybe even streamed live online.

It hasn't worked out that way so far.

In the three weeks since the Republican president has been back in the White House, Musk has rapidly burrowed deep into federal agencies while avoiding public scrutiny of his work. He has not answered questions from journalists or attended any hearings with lawmakers. Staff members for his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have sidelined career officials around Washington.

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Trump spars with Maine's governor at the White House over transgender athletes

President Donald Trump sparred with Maine's Democratic governor during a meeting of governors at the White House on Friday, with Gov. Janet Mills telling the Republican president, “We'll see you in court,” over his push to deny federal funding to the state over transgender athletes.

Trump told the governor he looked forward to it, and predicted the end of her political career for opposing his order.

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Trump administration stalling medical evacuation for USAID staffers, spouses in peril, suits charge

A pair of court orders have had only limited effect in slowing the Trump administration's dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and have left some USAID workers stationed worldwide in precarious situations, staffers assert.

The Trump administration has stalled medical evacuations for as many as 25 USAID staffers and spouses in the later stages of high-risk pregnancies overseas, according to testimony in lawsuits and a person familiar with the cases. The person was not authorized to speak publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

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The Supreme Court won't allow Trump to immediately fire head of whistleblower office

The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily kept on the job the head of the federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, in its first word on the many legal fights over President Donald Trump's second-term agenda.

The justices said in an unsigned order that Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, could remain in his job at least until Feb. 26. That's when a lower-court order temporarily protecting him expires.

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Trump administration looks to slash HUD workers tackling the housing crisis

The Trump administration's proposal to cut half of federal workers at the nation's housing agency is targeting employees who support disaster recovery, rental subsidies, discrimination investigations and first-time homebuyers, according to two documents obtained by The Associated Press.

More than a dozen programs within the Department of Housing and Urban Development's portfolio would be affected by the loss of some 4,000 positions detailed in the documents, raising concerns among former HUD officials and housing advocates who say a skeletal staff could slow or even stall the department’s critical work.

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Donald Trump shunned Project 2025 as a candidate, but is adopting its ideas in office

On the presidential campaign trail, candidate Donald Trump consistently distanced himself from Project 2025, a conservative think tank initiative that proposed sweeping changes to the federal government.

“I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it,” Trump said in a July social media post days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, as national polls showed a majority of voters were unsupportive of the book’s proposals.

Now as president, Trump is trying to put many of the proposals into place, through his growing list of executive orders and actions in his first weeks back in office.

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Trump administration is flouting an order to temporarily lift a freeze on foreign aid, judge says

The Trump administration has kept withholding foreign aid despite a court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide, a federal judge said Thursday.

Judge Amir H. Ali declined a request by nonprofit groups doing business with the U.S. Agency for International Development to find Trump administration officials in contempt of his order, however.

The Washington, D.C., district court judge said administration officials had used his Feb. 13 order to temporarily lift the freeze on foreign aid to instead “come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension” of funding.

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Judge won't immediately block Trump administration's abrupt halt to Catholic refugee funding

A federal judge on Thursday refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding of the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program in a setback to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Judge Trevor McFadden denied the bishops’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have restored the funding, but called his ruling “very tentative."

McFadden also ordered the two sides to have a mediation session with a federal magistrate judge next week.

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Kids' disability rights cases stalled as Trump began to overhaul Education Department

It was obvious to Christine Smith Olsey that her son was not doing well at school, despite educators telling her to leave it to the experts. The second-grade student stumbled over words, and other kids teased him so much he started to call himself “an idiot.”

Though her son had been receiving speech and occupational therapy, Smith Olsey said his Denver charter school resisted her requests for additional academic support. She filed a complaint with the state and then, in September, the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights.

In January, her son's case came to a halt.

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Trump holds Black History Month event as some agencies skip recognition after anti-DEI order

President Donald Trump marked Black History Month at the White House on Thursday, preserving a tradition by holding a reception at the same time that his executive order ending the federal government's diversity, equity and inclusion programs has disrupted its observance elsewhere.

The ceremony comes as Trump has called DEI programs “discrimination” and pushed to eradicate diversity programs from the government, directed that DEI workers eventually be laid off and exerted similar pressure on the private sector to shift to an exclusive focus on merit.

The sweeping effort has sown discord and confusion across federal agencies, which have variously interpreted the order to limit how they can acknowledge race in history and culture or report demographic data on race and gender.

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Trump administration throws out protections from deportation for roughly half a million Haitians

The Trump administration is throwing out protections for roughly half a million Haitians that had shielded them from deportation. The decision announced Thursday means they would lose their work permits and could be eligible to be removed from the country by August of this year.

The Department of Homeland Security in a news release said they were vacating a decision by the Biden administration to renew Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. That status gives people legal authority to be in the country but doesn’t provide a long-term path to citizenship.

They are reliant on the government renewing their status when it expires. Critics, including Republicans and the Trump administration, have said that over time the renewal of the protection status becomes automatic, regardless of what is happening in the person’s home country.

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IRS staff reductions nationwide trigger layoffs in Holtsville branch, employees say

Employees at the Holtsville branch of the Internal Revenue Service said staff reductions were ongoing Thursday, as the Trump administration moves to downsize the federal government and terminate 6,000 IRS employees nationwide.

Department of Homeland Security officers were dispatched to the office and patrolled the hallways while IRS employees awaited their official termination via email at their desks, according to an account from one employee to Newsday.

Another employee described a scene of chaos, confusion and heartbreak Thursday as scores of employees were laid off and escorted out of the building.

Trump fires head of Federal Election Commission, but she won't leave

WASHINGTON — The chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission posted a letter from President Donald Trump informing her that she’d been fired, but she’s refusing to leave.

“Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner & Chair,” Ellen Weintraub, a frequent critic of Trump, wrote on the social media network X Thursday evening. “There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners — this isn’t it,” she added.

Weintraub was appointed to a six-year term in 2002. Under federal law, she’s allowed to remain a commissioner past the expiration of her term until a replacement is prepared to join the commission, which oversees compliance with federal election laws.

She did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday night. The White House also did not respond to a request for comment. The attempt to fire Weintraub occurs as the Trump administration has engaged in dismissals of top officials across the U.S. government.

US official says Trump's frustration with Zelenskyy is 'multifold' and blasts 'insults' from Ukraine

A top White House official said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s increasingly tough criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy reflects the administration’s growing frustration with what they see as the Ukrainian leader creating roadblocks to finding an endgame to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The comments from White House national security adviser Mike Waltz came a day after Trump described Zelenskyy as a “dictator” and warned that he “better move fast” to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelenskyy earlier Wednesday had said Trump was living in a Russian-made “disinformation space."

“His frustration with President Zelenskyy that you heard is multifold,” Waltz said Thursday of Trump. “There needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people and the American taxpayer, what President Trump did in his first term and what we’ve done since. There’s some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump (that) were unacceptable.”

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Forced leaves start for thousands at USAID under a Trump plan to gut the foreign aid agency

WASHINGTON — Forced leaves began in Washington and worldwide Friday for most employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, as federal workers associations turned to the courts to try to roll back Trump administration orders that have dismantled most of the agency and U.S.- funded aid programs around the world.

Under the administration's plan, the agency is to be left with fewer than 300 workers out of thousands.

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Trump reboots AI policy

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is sending the country’s artificial intelligence policy back to the drawing board, scrapping Biden-era protections such as those against biased algorithms in a move that some say will let AI proliferate unchecked.

A Trump executive order from January calls for a new AI action plan “free from ideological bias” to be developed within 180 days by a group of White House science and tech officials, including David Sacks, a venture capitalist and former PayPal executive whom Trump named as a special adviser for AI and crypto.

The lifting of Biden’s guardrails and the six-month long wait for a new action plan has companies in areas ranging from health care to talent recruitment wondering how to proceed, said Aaron Tantleff, a partner at the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP specializing in tech policy.

“I have clients saying ‘I can’t wait,’” Tantleff said in an interview. Neither the tech companies developing the AI systems nor the end users of those systems are likely to halt their work until the new policy emerges, he said.

A news conference between Zelenskyy and Trump's Ukraine envoy is canceled amid growing tensions

KYIV, Ukraine — A news conference that was planned to follow talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy was canceled Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries over how to end the almost three-year war with Russia.

The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by Zelenskyy and retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, but it was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity where the two posed for journalists. They did not deliver statements or field questions as expected. The change was requested by the U.S. side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.

Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv coincided with recent feuding between Trump and Zelenskyy that has bruised their personal relations and cast further doubt on the future of U.S. support for Ukraine’s war effort.

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Business association asks Trump to help LI

A Long Island business group in a letter to President Donald Trump Thursday urged his administration to make tax reforms and allow the Island's renewable energy sector projects to continue, citing that the issues are "critical to Long Island’s economy."

The Long Island Association asked Trump to repeal the federal cap on state and local taxes — referred to as SALT — to help spur local spending and highlighted "the importance of offshore wind to our economy."

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Senate pushes toward confirmation of Kash Patel as Trump's FBI director

The Senate was set to vote Thursday on whether to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director, a decision that could place him atop the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency despite concerns from Democrats over his qualifications and the prospect that he would do President Donald Trump's bidding.

Patel cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last week by a 12-10, party-line vote and is set for consideration by the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday afternoon.

He is expected to be confirmed unless more than three Republican senators defy Trump's will and vote against him, which is seen as unlikely. Trump has already secured approval for most of his nominees despite initial Republican skepticism to several of his choices.

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Trump backs idea to send some DOGE savings to American citizens

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he likes the idea of giving some of the savings from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency back to U.S. citizens as a kind of dividend.

He said at an investment conference in Miami that the administration is considering a concept in which 20% of the savings produced by DOGE’s cost-cutting efforts goes to American citizens and another 20% goes to paying down the national debt.

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Democratic attorneys general challenging Musk's staff access to Americans' sensitive personal data

Democratic attorneys general in several states vowed Thursday to file a lawsuit to stop Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency's from accessing federal payment systems containing Americans' sensitive personal information.

A dozen attorneys general, including New York's Letitia James, said in a statement that they were taking action “in defense of our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on."

“As the richest man in the world, Elon Musk is not used to being told ‘no,’ but in our country, no one is above the law," the statement said. "The President does not have the power to give away our private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress.

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Trump administration plans to slash all but a fraction of USAID jobs, officials say

The Trump administration presented a plan Thursday to dramatically cut staffing worldwide for U.S. aid projects as part of its dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, leaving fewer than 300 workers out of thousands.

Two current USAID employees and one former senior USAID official told The Associated Press of the administration's plan, presented to remaining senior officials of the agency Thursday. They spoke on condition of anonymity amid a Trump administration order barring USAID staffers from talking to anyone outside their agency.

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Trump says federal government should 'take over' DC, backing congressional GOP push

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threw his support behind congressional efforts for a federal takeover of the nation's capital, saying he approves putting the District of Columbia back under direct federal control.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump complained about crime and homelessness in the district, saying, “I think we should take over Washington, D.C. — make it safe.” He added, "I think that we should govern District of Columbia.”

Under terms of the city’s Home Rule authority, Congress already vets all D.C. laws and can outright overturn them. Some congressional Republicans have sought to go further, eroding decades of the city’s limited autonomy and putting it back under direct federal control, as it was at its founding.

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Senate GOP budget bill back on track hours after Trump threw it into turmoil

Back on track, Senate Republicans pushed ahead Wednesday with their $340 billion budget bill focused on funding the White House's mass deportations and border security agenda after Vice President JD Vance gave a green light to proceed despite a morning dust-up caused by President Donald Trump.

The package was in jeopardy after Trump publicly bashed the approach from the Senate Budget Committee chairman, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Trump said he favored the “big beautiful bill” from House Republicans, a more politically fraught package that includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts but slashes government programs and services. Senators want to address those priorities later, in a second package.

“We are moving forward,” said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the GOP whip, after a lunch meeting with Vance at the Capitol. “Foot on the gas, moving forward.”

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DOGE notches courtroom wins as Elon Musk crusades to slash federal government

Although some parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda are getting bogged down by litigation, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is having better luck in the courtroom.

Labor unions, Democrats and federal employees have filed several lawsuits arguing that DOGE is running roughshod over privacy protections or usurping power from other branches of government.

But judges appointed by Democratic and Republican presidents haven’t always gone along with those arguments, at least so far. Most notably, DOGE critics are failing to obtain temporary restraining orders that would prevent Musk’s team from accessing sensitive government databases.

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Judge temporarily blocks Trump plan offering incentives for federal workers to resign

A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to push out federal employees by offering them financial incentives.

The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for workers to apply for the deferred resignation program, which has been commonly described as a buyout.

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. in Boston did not express an opinion on the legality of the program. He scheduled a hearing for Monday at 2 p.m. EST.

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New Social Security chief contradicts claims that millions of dead people are getting payouts

The new head of the Social Security Administration said Wednesday that deceased centenarians are “not necessarily receiving benefits," contradicting claims that tens of millions of dead people over the age of 100 are getting payments from the agency.

Lee Dudek, the new acting SSA commissioner who was placed in the role by President Donald Trump, gave the clarification after Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk falsely claimed on social media and in press briefings that people who are 100, 200 and even 300 years old are improperly and routinely getting benefits.

While it is true that improper payments have been made, including some to dead people, the numbers thrown out by Trump and Musk are overstated and misrepresent Social Security data.

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Labor unions call on Trump to boost US shipbuilding against increasing Chinese dominance

The heads of four major labor unions on Wednesday called on President Donald Trump to boost American shipbuilding and enforce tariffs and other “strong penalties” against China for its increasing dominance in that sphere.

The presidents of the United Steelworkers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers argue that China's efforts have hurt American workers and national security.

In a draft of the letter obtained by The Associated Press, they urged Trump to “impose tough penalties against vessels built according to the plans, policies, and actions of the Chinese Communist Party and to adopt complementary policies that rebuild America's shipbuilding capacity and workforce.”

Last year under President Joe Biden, the unions filed a petition seeking to address China’s shipbuilding under Section 301 of the 1974 U.S. Trade Act, hoping to start a process by which tariffs and other measures could be enacted.

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Senate confirms Kelly Loeffler, former Georgia senator, to lead Small Business Administration

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia businesswoman and former senator, to lead the Small Business Administration, returning a stalwart supporter of President Donald Trump to Washington.

At SBA, Loeffler will oversee the entity that describes itself as the only Cabinet-level federal agency "fully dedicated to small business” by providing “counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nation’s only go-to resource and voice for small businesses.” Typically, the agency — which was founded in 1953 — offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by a disaster, loans that can be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other expenses that would have been met if not for the disaster.

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Trump seeks greater control of independent regulators with his new executive order

President Donald Trump is moving to give the White House direct control of independent federal regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.

The executive order that Trump signed Tuesday gives the president more power to shape the oversight of the financial system and lay out criteria for transportation safety, basic consumer protections and wireless, broadcast, satellite and broadband communications.

It is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to assert greater authority over the government, possibly limiting the spending of congressionally approved funds in ways that could set up lawsuits and lead courts to weigh in.

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Panama's president denies making a deal that U.S. ships can transit the canal for free

PANAMA CITY — Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino on Thursday denied the U.S. State Department’s claim that his country had reached a deal allowing U.S. warships to transit the Panama Canal for free.

Mulino said he had told U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday that he could neither set the fees to transit the canal nor exempt anyone from them and that he was surprised by the U.S. State Department’s statement suggesting otherwise late Wednesday.

“I completely reject that statement yesterday,” Mulino said during his weekly press conference, adding that he had asked Panama’s ambassador in Washington to dispute the State Department’s statement.

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Opposition lawmakers protest alleged mistreatment of Indian deportees by U.S.

NEW DELHI — India’s Parliament was disrupted on Thursday as opposition lawmakers protested the alleged mistreatment of 104 Indian immigrants deported by the United States.

A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived Wednesday in a northern Indian city, the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration.

The lawmakers and media reports said the deportees’ arms and legs were shackled while on the aircraft. Parliament's proceedings were adjourned Thursday as the lawmakers chanted slogans and demanded a discussion about the deportation.

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Trump's foreign aid freeze halted a crucial program fighting HIV in Africa. Here's what's at stake

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Florence Makumene held a plastic container of HIV medication and wondered if it would be her last as fears swelled of a return to a time decades ago when millions across sub-Saharan Africa died of AIDS.

As a young adult in Zimbabwe, Makumene watched loved ones succumb to a diagnosis of HIV that was viewed back then as a death sentence. But the 53-year-old didn’t have to suffer the same fate when she tested positive in 2016. A community group funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, ensured she enrolled in lifesaving treatment.

“People around me, including my own children, had written me off and were preparing to bury me, but I bounced back stronger,” Makumene said.

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Is it real or is it a trick? Federal workers debate legitimacy of buyout offer as deadline nears

WASHINGTON — Thousands of miles from Elon Musk’s office in the White House complex, a federal worker based in the Pacific Northwest is wondering whether to quit.

Musk, one of President Donald Trump’s most powerful advisers, has orchestrated an unprecedented financial incentive for people to leave their government jobs, promising several months of pay in return for their resignation. The worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, wants to take the money and move overseas.

But she’s worried. What if the offer is too good to be true? What if this is really a covert effort to make a list of disloyal government employees?

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A worried NATO holds large-scale combat drills as the U.S. shifts its Europe stance under Trump

SMARDAN, Romania — NATO members continued their largest combat exercises of 2025 on Wednesday, testing their ability to rapidly deploy large-scale forces on the 32-nation alliance’s eastern border as worries grow over its most powerful member, the United States.

The drills in Romania, which borders Ukraine, come as a shaken Europe grapples with a new U.S. course under President Donald Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has demanded that allies dramatically ramp up military spending and said U.S. security priorities lie elsewhere — casting doubts on Washington’s longstanding security guarantees provided to Europe.

Days before the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Steadfast Dart 2025 drills comprise about 10,000 military personnel from nine nations as part of NATO’s new Allied Reaction Force. They are taking place over six weeks in Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.

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Trump's Labor Department pick has union support. Worker advocates wonder how much power she'd have

NEW YORK — Union leaders have described President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Labor as a friend of organized labor. But as her confirmation hearing begins Wednesday, advocates for workers' rights question whether Lori Chavez-DeRemer will be able to uphold that reputation in an administration that has fired thousands of federal employees.

Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican member of Congress from Oregon and former mayor of a small city on the edge of liberal-leaning Portland, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, the first stop in her confirmation process.

During her one term as a congresswoman, Chavez-DeRemer's voting record earned her strong union support. Some political observers surmised that Trump picked her as his labor secretary as a way to appeal to voters who are members of or affiliated with labor organizations. She is the daughter of a Teamster member.

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Long Islanders react to Trump's pitch for Gaza with bemusement, concern

Long Islanders interviewed by Newsday on Wednesday expressed astonishment and ridicule but also concern over President Donald Trump’s proposal to force all Palestinians to permanently evacuate Gaza so the United States can "take over."

Speaking Tuesday at the White House, where he was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the United States would "take over" Gaza and permanently relocate the 1.8 million Palestinians living there to other countries.

The president didn't rule out sending in troops as part of his plan to create a "Riviera of the Middle East" in Gaza, which he said now looks like a "demolition site" after prolonged bombings by Israel in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.

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Federal judge won't immediately block Elon Musk or DOGE from federal data or worker layoffs

A federal judge refused Tuesday to immediately block billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan found that there are legitimate questions about Musk's authority, but said there isn't evidence of the kind of grave legal harm that would justify a temporary restraining order.

The decision came in a lawsuit filed by 14 Democratic states challenging DOGE’s authority to access sensitive government data. The attorneys general argued that Musk is wielding the kind of power that the Constitution says can only be held by those who are elected or confirmed by the Senate.

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Trump signs order to study how to expand IVF and calls for 'radical transparency' from government

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order to study how to expand access to in vitro fertilization and make it more affordable.

The order calls for policy recommendations to “protect IVF access and aggressively reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for such treatments,” according to the White House. On the campaign trail, Trump called for universal coverage of IVF treatment after his Supreme Court nominees helped to overturn Roe v. Wade, leading to a wave of restrictions in Republican-led states, including some that have threatened access to IVF by trying to define life as beginning at conception.

Trump, who was at his Florida residence and club Mar-a-Lago, also signed another executive order as well as a presidential memorandum. The second executive order outlined the oversight functions of the Office of Management and Budget, while the presidential memorandum called for more transparency from the government, according to White House staff secretary Will Scharf, whom Trump called to the podium to detail the orders.

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As egg prices soar, Trump administration plans new strategy to fight bird flu

With egg prices soaring, the Trump administration is planning a new strategy for fighting bird flu that stresses vaccinations and tighter biosecurity instead of killing off millions of chickens when the disease strikes a flock.

The federal government will seek “better ways, with biosecurity and medication and so on” rather than the current standard practice of destroying all the birds on a farm when an infection is detected, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation.”

Hasset said the administration planned to announce further details this week. He said they were “working with all the best people in government, including academics around the country and around the world,” to get the plan ready.

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White House says Elon Musk is not in charge at DOGE, but is advising the president

The White House says billionaire Elon Musk is not the administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency team that is sweeping through federal agencies, but is rather a senior adviser to President Donald Trump.

Musk's exact role could be key in the legal fight over DOGE's access to government data as the Trump administration moves to lay off thousands of federal workers. Defining him as an adviser rather that the person in charge of day-to-day operations at DOGE could help the administration beat a lawsuit arguing Musk has too much power for someone who isn't elected or Senate-confirmed.

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Schools around the US confront anxiety over Trump's actions on immigration

In Fresno, California, social media rumors about impending immigration raids at the city's schools left some parents panicking — even though the raids were all hoaxes. In Denver, a real immigration raid at an apartment complex led to scores of students staying home from school, according to a lawsuit. And in Alice, Texas, a school official incorrectly told parents that Border Patrol agents might board school buses to check immigration papers.

President Donald Trump's immigration policies already are affecting schools across the country, as officials find themselves responding to rising anxiety among parents and their children, including those who are here legally. Trump's executive actions vastly expanded who is eligible for deportation and lifted a ban on immigration enforcement in schools.

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Lifesaving drug developed on Long Island saved a young girl. She calls proposed federal cuts 'selfish.'

Watch Now • 2:01

'Without this medication, Emma wouldn't be here'

Long Island researchers and the family of a St. James girl who received lifesaving medication developed at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory joined federal and local officials Monday, putting a face on those who could be hurt by $50 million in potential funding cuts.

Featured at a news conference Monday was Emma Larson, 12, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy when she was about 18 months old. Doctors told her family there was no cure and the life expectancy was for about two years after diagnosis. Her family enrolled her in a clinical trial at Columbia University on her second birthday for an experimental drug developed at Cold Spring Harbor Lab.

Due to the drug Spinraza, Emma, who was there Monday /add with her parents, Dianne and Matt, she was able to crawl again and occasionally use a walker. The Great Hollow 6th sixth grader now has a 4.4 GPA, takes coding classes and is learning Mandarin at Stony Brook on weekends, her mother said.

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Trump will sign new executive orders while his first joint TV interview with Musk airs in prime time

President Donald Trump on Tuesday was set to sign new executive orders from his Florida home while his first joint TV interview with adviser Elon Musk airs in prime time.

Trump's Florida home will also be the setting for an awards program by a conservative group led by Mike Flynn, who briefly served as national security adviser in the Republican president's first term.

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Long Island TikTok lawsuit: Parents counter First Amendment claim

Attorneys for the parents of a Bayport teenager who took his own his life in 2022 after his TikTok page allegedly was inundated with videos promoting suicide are urging a Suffolk judge to reject the social media app's argument that the First Amendment bars their claim.

A filing this month from the parents of late 16-year-old Chase Nasca followed President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order allowing TikTok to continue operating in the U.S. for 75 days. The order was issued hours after the ban, which had been approved by Congress and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, went into effect.

TikTok designed an "unreasonably dangerous social media product" that prompted Chase’s suicide and the company must be held responsible, attorney Harris Marks wrote in Feb. 5 court paperwork opposing the app's December motion to dismiss the litigation.

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Trump grant freeze stokes fear for Long Island victims of abuse

Nonprofit organizations serving survivors of domestic violence on Long Island say the suspension of a federal grant program has jeopardized critical services for their clients, including those who have fled abusers.

Leaders of East Hampton-based The Retreat and Suffolk County-based Brighter Tomorrows said they had planned to renew grants for transitional housing through the federal Office on Violence Against Women. The office, part of the U.S. Department of Justice, removed grant opportunities earlier this month for fiscal year 2025, just as many area nonprofits were preparing to submit their applications. The office, also known by its acronym, OVW, was the source of $63 million in grants last year across New York State to victim service organizations, local governments and other recipients.

The Feb. 6 notice on its website read in entirety: "At this time, OVW has withdrawn notices of funding opportunities, and you should not finalize any applications started under them. Please continue to check back on the OVW website to stay up-to-date on current and future open funding opportunities."

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Trump administration gives schools a deadline to end DEI programs or risk losing federal money

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is giving America’s schools and universities two weeks to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money, raising the stakes in the president’s fight against “wokeness” and sowing confusion as schools scramble to comply.

In a memo Friday, the Education Department gave an ultimatum to stop using “racial preferences” as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring or other areas. Schools are being given 14 days to end any practice that treats students or workers differently because of their race.

The sweeping demand could upend education in myriad ways. The memo targets college admissions offices, ordering an end to personal essays or writing prompts that can be used to predict an applicant’s race. It forbids dorms or graduation events for students of certain races. Efforts to recruit teachers from underrepresented groups could be seen as discrimination.

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Social Security head steps down over DOGE access of recipient information

The Social Security Administration 's acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information, according to two people familiar with the official's departure who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Acting Commissioner Michelle King's departure from the agency over the weekend — after more than 30 years of service — was initiated after King refused to provide DOGE staffers at the SSA with access to sensitive information, the people said Monday.

The White House has replaced her as acting commissioner with Leland Dudek, who currently works at the SSA, the people said.

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Judge to rule swiftly on effort to block DOGE from assessing data and firing federal employees

A federal judge on Monday questioned the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency but was skeptical of a request to block DOGE from accessing sensitive data and firing employees at half a dozen federal agencies.

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing on a request from 14 states for a temporary restraining order seeking to curtail Musk's power in President Donald Trump's quest to downsize the federal government. Chutkan said she would rule within 24 hours.

Trump appointed Musk to lead DOGE in a push to slash the federal workforce and reduce or end disfavored programs. The administration dismissed probationary employees and Trump in an executive order told agency leaders to plan for “large-scale reductions.”

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The anti-Musk protest movement is expected to ramp up with Congress on recess

Donald Trump is the president, but billionaire Elon Musk is the focus for thousands of Democratic activists launching a protest campaign this week to fight the Trump administration's push to gut federal health, education and human services agencies.

Hundreds of protests are scheduled outside congressional offices and Tesla dealerships, with organizers hoping to send a pointed message to members of Congress who are on recess this week.

The backlash still hasn't approached the intensity of protests during and after Trump's first inauguration eight years ago. But a loose coalition of Democrats and progressives is coalescing around Musk's rise as Trump's top lieutenant and his purge of the federal bureaucracy.

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Senate confirms Pam Bondi as US attorney general, putting Trump ally at Justice Department's helm

The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general Tuesday evening, putting a longtime ally of Donald Trump at the helm of a Justice Department that has already been rattled by the firings of career employees seen as disloyal to the Republican president.

The vote fell almost entirely along party lines, with only Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, joining with all Republicans to pass her confirmation 54-46.

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Trump wants US to take ownership of Gaza and redevelop it after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he wants the U.S. to take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere.

“We will own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site,” Trump said a start of a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump added the U.S. would level destroyed buildings and “create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.

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Ukraine and Europe worry about being sidelined as Trump pushes direct talks with Russia on war's end

President Donald Trump’s approach to ending Russia’s war against Ukraine has left European allies and Ukrainian officials worried they are being largely sidelined by the new U.S. administration as Washington and Moscow plan direct negotiations.

With the three-year war grinding on, Trump is sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian counterparts, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the upcoming diplomatic efforts and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It is unclear whether Ukraine or European officials will be represented in discussions expected to take place in Riyadh in the coming days. The official said the United States sees negotiations as early-stage and fluid, and who ultimately ends up at the table could change.

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Trump picks former chief entangled in 'Sharpiegate' to lead NOAA

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has nominated Neil Jacobs to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, turning to the man who was his acting NOAA chief in 2019 when Trump altered an expected hurricane impact map in what became known as the “Sharpiegate” scandal.

After Alabama meteorologists had contradicted an earlier Trump tweet warning of Alabama being in a storm's path, the Jacobs-led agency chastised them. That eventually drew criticism of Jacobs and his political higher-ups in a Department of Commerce inspector general's report on Sharpiegate.

NOAA oversees the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Ocean Service and other offices. Along with many other federal agencies, NOAA was targeted in Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for change in a second Trump administration. That document called to “break up NOAA," criticizing the agency as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.”

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Treasury tells Congress that DOGE had 'Read Only' access to payment systems

WASHINGTON — A Treasury Department official wrote a letter Tuesday to federal lawmakers saying that a tech executive working with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency will have “read-only access” to the government's payment system.

The official sent the letter out of concerns from members of Congress that DOGE's involvement with the payment system for the federal government could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, has raised concerns about its intentions and overruling of career officials at multiple agencies. Democratic lawmakers have voiced frustration over the lack of transparency and public accountability, saying that Musk's people might illegally withhold payments to suit their political agenda.

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Rubio says Hamas must be eradicated, casting further doubt on the shaky ceasefire in Gaza

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday fully endorsed Israel's war aims in the Gaza Strip, saying Hamas “must be eradicated” and throwing the future of the shaky ceasefire into further doubt.

Rubio met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem at the start of a regional tour, where he is likely to face pushback from Arab leaders over President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it under U.S. ownership.

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Justice Department's independence is threatened as Trump's team asserts power over cases and staff

Pam Bondi had insisted at her Senate confirmation hearing that as attorney general, her Justice Department would not “play politics.”

Yet in the month since the Trump administration took over the building, a succession of actions has raised concerns the department is doing exactly that.

Top officials have demanded the names of thousands of FBI agents who investigated the Capitol riot, sued a state attorney general who had won a massive fraud verdict against Donald Trump before the 2024 election, and ordered the dismissal of a criminal case against New York Mayor Eric Adams by saying the charges had handicapped the Democrat's ability to partner in the Republican administration's fight against illegal immigration.

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Trump plans to attend NASCAR's Daytona 500 for the second time as president

Donald Trump is planning to attend Sunday's Daytona 500 for the second time as president and help further burnish his image as a sports fan.

He was at the race in 2020 while running for a second term. Trump was given the honor of being grand marshal of NASCAR's biggest and most prestigious event of the year and delivered the command for drivers to start their engines.

Trump also thrilled thousands of NASCAR fans in the stands with an Air Force One flyover before he rode in the presidential limousine onto the Daytona International Speedway.

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Rubio kicks off Mideast trip in Israel as Arab leaders reel from Trump's Gaza proposal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is kicking of a Mideast tour in Israel on Sunday as Arab leaders reel from President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip to other countries and redevelop it under U.S. ownership.

On Rubio's first visit to the region as America's top diplomat he is likely to get a warm welcome from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has praised the plan, and pushback from Arab leaders, who have universally rejected it and are scrambling to come up with a counterproposal.

The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas meanwhile remains intact after a major dispute threatened to unravel it last week. But the sides face a fast-approaching deadline in early March to negotiate the next phase, and the war may resume if they don't reach an agreement.

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Trump tours Boeing plane to check out features that would be on overdue new Air Force One aircraft

President Donald Trump toured a Boeing airplane to check out new hardware and technology features and highlight the aircraft maker's delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, the White House said Saturday.

Trump visited the private aircraft parked at Palm Beach International Airport.

“President Trump is touring a new Boeing plane to checkout the new hardware/technology," said Steven Cheung, the White House communications director. “This highlights the project’s failure to deliver a new Air Force One on time as promised.”

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Justice Department fires 20 immigration judges from backlogged courts amid major government cuts

The Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government.

On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers. Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances in the last week.

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AP reporter and photographer barred from Air Force One over 'Gulf of Mexico' terminology dispute

The White House barred a credentialed Associated Press reporter and photographer from boarding the presidential airplane Friday for a weekend trip with Donald Trump, saying the news agency’s stance on how to refer to the Gulf of Mexico was to blame for the exclusion. It represented a significant escalation by the White House in a four-day dispute with the AP over access to the presidency.

The administration has blocked the AP from covering a handful of events at the White House this week, including a news conference with India's leader and several times in the Oval Office. It’s all because the news outlet has not followed Trump’s lead in renaming the body of water, which lies partially outside U.S. territory, to the “Gulf of America.”

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IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season

The IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season, according to two sources familiar with the agency's plans, and cuts could happen as soon as next week.

This comes as the Trump administration intensified sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection.

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Trump calls for withholding federal money from schools and colleges that require COVID vaccines

Schools, colleges and states that require students to be immunized against COVID-19 may be at risk of losing federal money under a White House order signed Friday by President Donald Trump.

The order is expected to have little national impact because COVID-19 vaccine mandates have mostly been dropped at schools and colleges across the United States, and many states have passed legislation forbidding such mandates.

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Second federal judge pauses Trump's order against gender-affirming care for youth

A second federal judge on Friday paused President Donald Trump’s executive order halting federal support for gender-affirming care for transgender youth under 19.

U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King granted a temporary restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota sued the Trump administration last week. Three doctors joined as plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed in the Western District of Washington.

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CDC to lose one-tenth of workforce under Trump administration probationary job cuts

Nearly 1,300 probationary employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — roughly one-tenth of the agency's workforce — are being forced out under the Trump administration's move to get rid of all probationary employees.

The Atlanta-based agency's leadership was notified of the decision Friday morning. The verbal notice came from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a meeting with CDC leaders, according to a federal official who was at the meeting. The official was not authorized to discuss it and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

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New York City to sue Trump administration to get back $80.5M for housing migrants

New York City plans to sue the Trump administration for clawing back $80.5 million in emergency migrant funding that had already been appropriated by Congress and paid into municipal bank accounts, according to a spokeswoman for Mayor Eric Adams.

Details of the lawsuit and the legal theory of the case weren’t disclosed, although the city will initiate the suit by Feb. 21, said the spokeswoman, Liz Garcia.

Garcia provided a copy of a letter sent to City Comptroller Brad Lander confirming the litigation papers are being drafted.

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Anger, chaos and confusion take hold as federal workers face mass layoffs

Workers all over the country responded with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration 's aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections.

While much of the administration’s attention was focused on disrupting bureaucracy in Washington, the broad-based effort to slash the government workforce was impacting a far wider swath of workers. As layoff notices began to go out agency by agency this week, federal employees from Michigan to Florida were left reeling from being told that their services were no longer needed.

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White House blocks AP reporter from Trump-Modi news conference because of Gulf of Mexico fight

The White House blocked an Associated Press journalist from covering a news conference with two major world leaders Thursday, upping the stakes in a disagreement between the news agency and the Trump administration over AP's style decision to stick with the name “Gulf of Mexico” for the body of water that the president rechristened the “Gulf of America.”

An AP reporter was prevented from entering a news conference where President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi answered questions, effectively shutting out thousands of global news outlets that rely on the news organization.

Julie Pace, the AP's senior vice president and executive editor, called it a “deeply troubling escalation" and “a plain violation of the First Amendment” to the U.S. Constitution.

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Trump administration lays off probationary government workers, warns others of large cuts to come

The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation's largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection — potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.

In addition, workers at some agencies were warned that large workplace cuts would be coming.

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US hits international court's top prosecutor with sanctions after Trump's order

The U.S. sanctioned the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Thursday, following up on President Donald Trump’s order last week targeting the court over its investigations of Israel.

The prosecutor, Karim Khan, was added Thursday to Washington’s list of “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons.” Those on the list are barred from doing business with Americans and face restrictions on entry to the U.S.

The Hague-based court is tasked with prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The U.S. never has recognized the ICC's authority, and Trump has criticized the court for years. His first administration sanctioned Khan’s predecessor, Fatou Bensouda, and the Biden administration subsequently lifted those sanctions.

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Trump seems to question well-known part of Sen. Mitch McConnell's life — his childhood polio battle

President Donald Trump seemed to question a well-documented part of Sen. Mitch McConnell's life — his childhood battle with polio — after the Kentucky Republican opposed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation Thursday as the nation's top health official.

Trump attacked McConnell's mental acuity and said he had “no idea” if the senator had polio. The Oval Office attack exposed the icy relationship between the Republican president and the former Senate GOP leader. They worked in tandem on tax cuts and judicial appointments during Trump's first term, but their relationship soured after McConnell blamed Trump for “disgraceful” acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and the president made personal comments about McConnell and his family.

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Rubio says Panama must reduce Chinese influence around the canal or face possible US action

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio brought a warning to Panamanian leader José Raúl Mulino on Sunday: Immediately reduce what President Donald Trump says is Chinese influence over the Panama Canal area or face potential retaliation from the United States.

Rubio, traveling to the Central American country and touring the Panama Canal on his first foreign trip as top U.S. diplomat, held face-to-face talks with Mulino, who has resisted pressure from the new U.S. government over management of a waterway that is vital to global trade.

Mulino told reporters after the meeting that Rubio made “no real threat of retaking the canal or the use of force.”

Speaking on behalf of Trump, who has demanded that the canal be returned to U.S. control, Rubio told Mulino that Trump believed that China’s presence in the canal area may violate a treaty that led the United States to turn the waterway over to Panama in 1999. That treaty calls for the permanent neutrality of the American-built canal.

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Trump wants denuclearization talks with Russia and China, hopes for defense spending cuts

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he wants to restart nuclear arms control talks with Russia and China and that eventually he hopes all three countries could agree to cut their massive defense budgets in half.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump lamented the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in rebuilding the nation's nuclear deterrent and said he hopes to gain commitments from the U.S. adversaries to cut their own spending.

“There’s no reason for us to be building brand new nuclear weapons, we already have so many,” Trump said. “You could destroy the world 50 times over, 100 times over. And here we are building new nuclear weapons, and they’re building nuclear weapons.”

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Trump signs a plan for reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners, ushering in economic uncertainty

President Donald Trump on Thursday rolled out his plan to increase U.S. tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports, possibly triggering a broader economic confrontation with allies and rivals alike as he hopes to eliminate any trade imbalances.

"I’ve decided for purposes of fairness that I will charge a reciprocal tariff," Trump said in the Oval Office at the proclamation signing. “It’s fair to all. No other country can complain.”

Trump's Republican administration has insisted that its new tariffs would level the playing field between U.S. manufacturers and foreign competitors, though these new taxes would likely be paid by American consumers and businesses either directly or in the form of higher prices.

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Trump settles suit against Elon Musk's X over his post-Jan. 6 ban

President Donald Trump has settled a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s X over the social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, banning him after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The settlement was for about $10 million, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential arrangement. Some of the money was expected to go to Trump's legal fees, with the balance directed to his future presidential library. It’s the latest instance of a large corporation agreeing to make large payments to the president to settle litigation, as Trump has threatened retribution on his critics and rivals.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the settlement. X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Trump's call with Putin ends U.S. efforts to isolate Russia

By saying Ukraine’s NATO membership is “impractical” and the return of Russian-occupied territories to Kyiv is “illusionary,” the Trump administration is giving its blessing to key items on President Vladimir Putin’s wish list — even before a potential settlement of the conflict.

Rarely was a policy change between Moscow and Washington so swift and drastic than President Donald Trump’s phone call with Putin, abruptly ending three-year U.S.-led effort to isolate the Russian leader over Ukraine.

And the fighting in Ukraine wasn’t the only issue the two leaders discussed in Wednesday's call. They talked about the Middle East settlement, the role of the dollar, global energy markets and even artificial intelligence.

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Brooke Rollins confirmed as Trump's agriculture secretary as tariff fights loom

Conservative lawyer Brooke Rollins was confirmed Thursday as secretary of agriculture, placing a close ally of President Donald Trump into a key Cabinet position at a time when mass deportation plans could lead to farm labor shortages and tariffs could hit agricultural exports.

Rollins, who served as chief for domestic policy during Trump's first administration, was confirmed overwhelmingly by the Senate in a 72-28 vote.

Rollins will now lead a department tasked with overseeing nearly all aspects of the nation's food system, including standards on farming practices and livestock rearing, federal subsidies to farmers or agribusinesses and setting nutrition standards for schools and public health officials nationwide.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as Trump's secretary after a close Senate vote

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, putting the prominent vaccine skeptic in control of $1.7 trillion in federal spending, vaccine recommendations and food safety as well as health insurance programs for roughly half the country.

Republicans fell in line behind Trump despite hesitancy over Kennedy views on vaccines, voting 52-48 to elevate the scion of one of America’s most storied political — and Democratic — families to secretary of the Health and Human Services Department. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, was the only “no” vote among Republicans, mirroring his stands against Trump's picks for the Pentagon chief and director of national intelligence. All Democrats opposed Kennedy.

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Trump's second week in office delivers jolts and chaotic orders with a mix of politics and tragedy

President Donald Trump's second week in office seemed to deliver a daily dose of deliberate jolts for the country.

There were chaotic reminders of his first term. The White House found itself backtracking on its directive to freeze federal spending on grants and loans. And the Republican president indulged unsupported accusations after a deadly plane crash near Washington.

Trump also escalated his moves against the institutions that he was elected to lead. His administration ousted prosecutors who worked on Capitol riot cases and laid the groundwork for purging FBI agents. Elon Musk, Trump's billionaire ally, began efforts to dramatically downsize the federal workforce.

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Trump wants to undo diversity programs. Some agencies react by scrubbing U.S. history and culture

The tails of the Alabama Air National Guard’s F-35 Lightnings are painted red, like those of the Guard's F-16s before them. It's an homage to the famed Alabama-based unit of the Tuskegee Airmen, who flew red-tailed P-51 Mustangs during World War II.

The squadron, which trained in the state, was the nation’s first to be comprised of Black military pilots, shattering racial barriers and racist beliefs about the capabilities of Black pilots. Their success in combat paved the way for the desegregation of the U.S. military, a story that is interwoven in state and U.S. history. Yet for a moment after President Donald Trump took office, that history was almost scrubbed by the Air Force.

The service removed training videos of the Tuskegee Airmen along with ones showing the World War II contributions of the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, at its basic training base in San Antonio, where airmen have passed through for generations.

Although the move was swiftly rescinded after a bipartisan outcry, the fact that it happened even momentarily is evidence of the confusion resulting from the avalanche of executive orders and other actions from Trump since he began his second term in the White House. The administration has been forced to walk back some actions that have caused widespread chaos, such as a memorandum freezing federal grants and loans.

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Judge orders Trump administration to temporarily allow funds for foreign aid to flow again

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift a three-week funding freeze that has shut down U.S. aid and development programs abroad.

Judge Amir Ali issued the order Thursday in a lawsuit brought by companies that receiving U.S. funding for programs abroad.

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Elon Musk calls for government to 'delete entire agencies'

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Elon Musk called Thursday to “delete entire agencies” from the U.S. government as part of his push under President Donald Trump to radically cut spending and restructure its priorities.

Musk offered a wide-ranging survey via a videocall to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, of what he described as the priorities of the Trump administration interspersed with multiple references to “thermonuclear warfare” and the possible dangers of artificial intelligence.

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NATO allies insist Ukraine and Europe must be in peace talks

BRUSSELS — Several NATO allies stressed on Thursday that Ukraine and Europe must not be cut out of any peace negotiations as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied that the United States is betraying the war-ravaged country.

European governments are reeling after the Trump administration signaled that it is planning face-to-face talks with Russia on ending the Ukraine war without involving them, insisted that Kyiv should not join NATO, and said that it’s up to Europe to protect itself and Ukraine from whatever Russia might do next.

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8 inspectors general fired by Trump file a federal lawsuit

WASHINGTON — Eight government watchdogs sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over their mass firing that removed oversight of his new administration.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington asks a judge to declare the firings unlawful and restore them to their positions.

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Pentagon agency pauses celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and more

The Defense Department's intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the federal workplace.

The instructions were published Tuesday in a Defense Intelligence Agency memo obtained by The Associated Press and affect 11 annual events, including Black History Month, which begins Saturday, and National Hispanic Heritage Month.

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Trump was challenged after blaming DEI for the DC plane crash. Here's what he said

President Donald Trump began his White House briefing Thursday with a moment of silence and a prayer for victims of Wednesday's crash at Reagan National Airport. But his remarks quickly became a diatribe against diversity hiring and his allegation — so far without evidence — that lowered standards were to blame for the crash.

Trump on Thursday variously pointed the finger at the helicopter’s pilot, air traffic control, his predecessor, Joe Biden, and other Democrats including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whom he labeled a “disaster.” Buttigieg responded by calling Trump “despicable.”

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RFK Jr. is on the defensive over his vaccine views as a key confirmation vote hangs in the balance

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long record of doubting the safety of childhood vaccinations persisted as a flash point for him Thursday in a confirmation hearing where senators, including a key Republican, shared intensely personal details about the impact vaccine skepticism had on their lives.

In one response, Kennedy refused to flatly reject a long-discredited theory that vaccines cause autism, despite years of studies and research that have found they do not.

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Senate confirms Doug Burgum as interior secretary after Trump tasked him to boost drilling

The Senate confirmed Doug Burgum as interior secretary late Thursday after President Donald Trump tapped the North Dakota billionaire to spearhead the Republican administration's ambitions to boost fossil fuel production.

The vote was 79-18. More than half of Senate Democrats joined all 53 Republicans in voting for Burgum.

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Trump signs executive order to continue downsizing federal workforce

President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Tuesday that would continue downsizing the federal workforce, including strict limits on hiring.

The Associated Press reviewed a White House fact sheet on the order, which is intended to advance Elon Musk 's work slashing spending with his Department of Government Efficiency.

It said that “agencies will undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren’t required by law."

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Vance offers an 'America First' argument on AI deregulation in his first foreign policy speech

In his first big moment on the world stage, Vice President JD Vance delivered an unmistakable message: the United States under the 47th president has room for you on the Trump train — but it also has no problem leaving you behind.

Vance, speaking at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday, hewed closely to President Donald Trump's “America First” outlook as he spoke of maintaining U.S. dominance in the surging industry.

He also pressed European nations to step back from “excessive regulation” of the AI sector that he said “could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off.”

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Trump says tariffs on Canada and Mexico coming Saturday, and he's deciding whether to tax their oil

President Donald Trump said his 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico are coming on Saturday, but he’s still considering whether to include oil from those countries as part of his import taxes.

“We may or may not,” Trump told reporters Thursday in the Oval Office about tariffing oil from Canada and Mexico. “We’re going to make that determination probably tonight.”

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Trump steel, aluminum tariffs likely to drive up car costs, industry leaders say

DETROIT — President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel imports this week could wreak havoc on American auto manufacturing, industry leaders say. The moves align with the Trump administration's aggressive global trade agenda and ambitions to strengthen U.S. industry, but they could have an inverse effect.

On March 12, all steel imports will be taxed at a minimum of 25%, the result of two orders the president signed Monday that also include a 25% tariff on aluminum. That could have a serious impact on domestic auto companies including Ford, GM and Stellantis — and make these companies' vehicles more expensive for the nation's car buyers.

Tariffs on crucial products coming from outside of the U.S. places pressure on domestic sourcing of the materials, experts say. The basic rules of supply and demand could drive up costs.

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Senator seeks watchdog inquiry into Kash Patel, alleges behind-the-scenes role in purge at FBI

WASHINGTON — A top Democratic senator has asked the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate after he says he received information that President Donald Trump's pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, had been “personally directing the ongoing purge” of agents at the bureau.

The letter Tuesday from Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asserts that Patel may have misled the panel at his confirmation hearing last month when he said in response to a question that he was not aware of any plans inside the FBI to punish or fire any agents.

The hearing took place just hours before news broke that a group of senior FBI executives had been told either to resign or be fired, and one day before it was revealed that the Justice Department had demanded a list of thousands of agents who worked on investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a move some bureau employees fear could be a precursor to more expansive firings.

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The plastic straw has come to symbolize a global pollution crisis. Trump wants them to stay

Straws might seem insignificant, inspiring jokes about the plastic vs. paper debate, but the plastic straw has come to symbolize a global pollution crisis over the past decade.

On Monday, President Donald Trump waded into the issue when he signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work” and don’t last very long. Trump said he thinks “it’s OK” to continue using plastic straws, although they've have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life.

In 2015, video of a marine biologist pulling a plastic straw out of a turtle’s nose sparked outrage worldwide and countries and cities started banning them, starting with the Pacific Island nation Vanuatu and Seattle in 2018.

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Trump says he is considering tariff exemptions on Australian steel and aluminum

U.S. President Donald Trump said he agreed to consider a tariff exemption on Australian steel and aluminum imports after a telephone call on Tuesday with Australia’s prime minister.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese argued for an exemption during the call, which was scheduled before Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday.

Trump said the United States trade surplus with Australia was one of the reasons he was considering an exemption from the tariffs.

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President Donald Trump's potential freeze of federally funded programs alarms many on Long Island

Long Island nonprofits, social service groups and other recipients of federal funds responded with alarm and confusion Tuesday to a Trump administration memo that sought to impose a freeze on targeted federally funded programs.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday halted the memo’s orders until Feb. 3, moments before it was to take effect at 5 p.m., to consider its complicated ramifications.

The memo issued Monday night by the Office of Management and Budget put a "temporary pause" on federal grants and loans to align spending with President Donald Trump’s priorities and to eliminate "Marxist equity, transgenderism and green new deal" policies.

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Trump administration revokes deportation protections for 600,000 Venezuelans

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday that the Trump administration has revoked a decision that would have protected roughly 600,000 people from Venezuela from deportation.

On “Fox and Friends," Noem said that she reversed the decision made by her successor, Alejandro Mayorkas, in the waning days of the Biden administration that extended Temporary Protected Status.

“Before he left town, Mayorkas signed an order that said for 18 months they were going to extend this protection to people that are on temporary protected status, which meant that they were going to be able to stay here and violate our laws for another 18 months," Noem said. “We stopped that.”

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USAID staffers turned away from offices even after court suspends leave order

WASHINGTON — Officials and federal officers turned away scores of U.S. Agency for International staffers who showed up for work Monday at its Washington headquarters, after a court temporarily blocked a Trump administration order that would have pulled all but a fraction of workers off the job worldwide.

A front desk officer turned away a steady stream of agency staffers— dressed in business clothes or USAID sweatshirts or T-shirts—saying he had a list of no more than 10 names of people allowed to enter the building. Tarps hung over USAID's interior signs.

A man who earlier identified himself as a USAID official took a harsher tone, telling arriving staffers “just go" and "why are you here?”

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Sean Duffy is confirmed by the Senate to lead the Transportation Department

Sean Duffy was confirmed Tuesday as transportation secretary, giving him a key role in helping President Donald Trump cut regulations and fix the nation's infrastructure.

The former Wisconsin congressman has promised safer Boeing planes, less regulation and help for U.S. companies developing self-driving cars -- while not giving any breaks to Elon Musk, a key player in that technology.

Duffy, a 53-year-old former reality TV star, was approved with bipartisan support on a 77-22 vote in the Senate.

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Trump fills his government with billionaires after running on a working-class message

President Donald Trump’s brash populism has always involved incongruence: the billionaire businessman-politician stirring the passions of millions who, regardless of the U.S. economy’s trajectory, could never afford to live in his Manhattan skyscraper or visit his club in south Florida.

His second White House is looking a lot like the inside of Mar-a-Lago, with extremely wealthy Americans taking key roles in his administration.

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency. Billionaires or mega-millionaires are lined up to run the treasury, commerce, interior and education departments, NASA and the Small Business Administration, and fill key foreign posts.

“He’s bringing in folks who have had great success in the private sector,” said Debbie Dooley, an early 2015 Trump supporter and onetime national organizer in the anti-establishment Tea Party movement. “If you need to have brain surgery, you want the proven brain surgeons.”

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Federal Reserve expected to stand pat on rates even as Trump demands cuts

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is nearly certain to keep its key interest rate unchanged at its policy meeting this week, just a few days after President Donald Trump said he would soon demand lower rates.

Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, have cut their rate for three meetings in a row, to about 4.3%, from a two-decade high of 5.3%. Yet with several recent economic reports showing healthy hiring and some progress on inflation, policymakers have said that the pace of rate cuts will slow this year. Some have suggested that few reductions are needed at all.

While the two-day meeting that ends Wednesday may be uneventful, it nevertheless kicks off what is likely to be a turbulent year for the Fed. Trump, last Thursday, made clear he expects to comment on interest-rate policy and said, “I know interest rates much better than they do."

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Trump officials issue quotas to ICE officers to ramp up arrests

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been directed by Trump officials to aggressively ramp up the number of people they arrest, from a few hundred per day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, because the president has been disappointed with the results of his mass deportation campaign so far, according to four people with knowledge of the briefings.

The quotas were outlined Saturday in a call with senior ICE officials, who were told that each of the agency’s field offices should make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable for missing those targets. The four people spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal briefings.

The orders significantly increase the chance that officers will engage in more indiscriminate enforcement tactics or face accusations of civil rights violations as they strain to meet quotas, according to current and former ICE officials.

White House “border czar” Tom Homan has said for weeks that ICE would not conduct mass roundups and its officers would prioritize immigrants with criminal records and who are gang members. But the quotas issued this weekend would place ICE officers under more pressure to seize a wider range of potential deportees to avoid reprimand, including immigrants who have not committed crimes.

They helped U.S. order airstrikes against Taliban. Now Trump's moves have left those Afghans in limbo

TIRANA, Albania — They helped the U.S. military order airstrikes against Taliban and Islamic State fighters and worked as drivers and translators during America's longest war. They were set to start new lives in the United States.

Then President Donald Trump issued executive orders that put an end to programs used to help Afghans get to safety in America. Now those same Afghans, who underwent a yearslong background check, find themselves in a state of limbo.

“I was shocked. I am still in shock because I have already waited four years for this process, to get out of this hell and to get to a safe place and live in peace and have a new beginning,” said Roshangar, one of the Afghans whose life was upended by Trump's action. Roshangar requested that The Associated Press only use his first name because he was afraid of Taliban reprisals.

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Top Trump administration officials in Chicago for start of immigration enforcement crackdown

Top Trump administration officials, including “border czar” Tom Homan and the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to witness the start of ramped-up immigration enforcement in the nation’s third-largest city.

Few details of the operation were immediately made public, including the number of arrests. But the sheer number of federal agencies involved showed President Donald Trump's willingness to use federal law enforcement beyond the Department of Homeland Security to carry out his long-promised mass deportations.

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Vance says the DOGE staffer who resigned after a report of racist postings should be brought back

Vice President JD Vance said Friday that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency should rehire a staff member who resigned after he was linked to social media posts that espoused racism, with President Donald Trump later endorsing his vice president's view.

Marko Elez resigned Thursday after The Wall Street Journal linked the 25-year-old DOGE staffer to a deleted social media account on X that posted last year, “I was racist before it was cool” and “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity,” among other posts.

The account in September included a post that said, “Normalize Indian hate." The vice president's wife, Usha Vance, is the daughter of Indian immigrants.

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Trump official's directive tying transportation grants to birth rates could hinder blue states

Shortly after he was confirmed as President Donald Trump’s transportation secretary, Sean Duffy circulated a memo that instructed his department to prioritize families by, among other things, giving preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average when awarding grants.

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal called the directive last week “deeply frightening," and Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray called it “disturbingly dystopian.”

The memo also calls for prohibiting governments that get Department of Transportation funds from imposing vaccine and mask mandates, and requiring their cooperation with the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

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Japan's Ishiba makes a whirlwind Washington trip to try to forge a personal connection with Trump

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba didn't skimp on the legwork as he prepared for his first meeting with President Donald Trump.

He huddled this week with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, two executives Trump recently hosted at the White House. He sought advice from his immediate predecessor, Fumio Kishida.

Ishiba even called on the widow of Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister with whom Trump bonded over rounds of golf during his first term.

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Musk team's access to student loan systems raises alarms over personal information for millions

Democrats are pushing back against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as it turns its attention to the Education Department, with lawmakers raising concerns about DOGE’s access to internal systems containing personal information on tens of millions of Americans.

In a letter to the acting education secretary, a group of Democrats is seeking to intervene as DOGE gains increasing access to student loan databases and other systems. Democrats fear it could lay the groundwork for a takeover akin to Musk’s attempt to close the U.S. Agency for International Development. The letter demanded details about DOGE’s work and vowed to fight any attempt to close the Education Department.

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski to vote against Hegseth, first Republican to oppose a Trump Cabinet pick

Sen. Lisa Murkowski announced Thursday that she will vote against confirming Pete Hegseth to lead the Pentagon, becoming the first Republican to oppose one of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks ahead of a crucial test vote.

Murkowski, of Alaska, said in a lengthy statement that allegations of excessive drinking and aggressive actions toward women, which Hegseth has denied, show that his behaviors “starkly contrast” with what is expected of the U.S. military. She also noted his past statements that women should not fill military combat roles.

“I remain concerned about the message that confirming Mr. Hegseth sends to women currently serving and those aspiring to join,” Murkowski wrote on social media.

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Trump tells Davos elite to invest in U.S. or face tariffs

President Donald Trump used an address Thursday to the World Economic Forum to promise global elites lower taxes if they bring manufacturing to the U.S. and threatened to impose tariffs if they don’t.

Speaking by video from the White House to the annual summit in Davos, Switzerland, on his third full day in office, Trump ran through his flurry of executive actions since his swearing-in and claimed that he had a “massive mandate” from the American people to bring change. He laid out a carrot-and-stick approach for private investment in the U.S.

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Judge temporarily blocks Trump plan offering incentives for federal workers to resign

WASHINGTON — A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to push out federal workers by offering them financial incentives, the latest tumult for government employees already wrestling with upheaval from the new administration.

Thursday's ruling came hours before the midnight deadline to apply for the deferred resignation program, which was orchestrated by Trump adviser Elon Musk.

Labor unions said the plan was illegal, and U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. in Boston paused its implementation until after he could hear arguments from both sides at a court hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon. He directed the Republican administration to extend the deadline until then.

A White House official said 65,000 workers have signed up to leave their jobs while being paid until Sept. 30. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt described federal employees who have been working remotely as lazy, saying “they don’t want to come into the office" and “if they want to rip the American people off, then they’re welcome to take this buyout.”

Trump's perceived enemies worry about losing pensions, getting audited and paying steep legal bills

It’s not just criminal prosecutions that worry those who have crossed President Donald Trump. There are more prosaic kinds of retaliation: having difficulty renewing passports, getting audited by the IRS and losing federal pensions.

For the many people who have made an enemy of Trump, his return to the presidency this week sparked anxiety. Some are concerned they could go bankrupt trying to clear their names.

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Senate confirms Project 2025 architect Russell Vought to lead powerful White House budget office

The Senate confirmed Russell Vought as White House budget director on Thursday night, putting an official who has planned the zealous expansion of President Donald Trump's power into one of the most influential positions in the federal government.

Vought was confirmed on a party-line vote of 53-47. With the Senate chamber full, Democrats repeatedly tried to speak as they cast their “no” votes to give their reasons for voting against Vought, but they were gaveled down by Sen. Ashley Moody, a Florida Republican who was presiding over the chamber. She cited Senate rules that ban debate during votes.

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Trump's Justice Department ends Biden-era task force aimed at seizing assets of Russian oligarchs

The Trump administration's Justice Department has disbanded a Biden-era program aimed at seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs as a means to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The move to disband Task Force KleptoCapture is one of several moves undertaken by the Justice Department under the new leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi that presage a different approach toward Russia and national security issues.

The department also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in the first Trump administration to police influence campaigns staged by Russia and other nations aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation. The U.S. government in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election aggressively moved to disrupt propaganda campaigns by Russia, which officials have assessed had a preference for Trump.

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Trump administration sues Chicago in latest crackdown on 'sanctuary' cities

The Trump administration sued Chicago on Thursday alleging that 'sanctuary' laws in the nation's third-largest city “thwart" federal efforts to enforce immigration laws.

The lawsuit, which also names the state of Illinois, is the latest effort to crack down on places that limit cooperation between federal immigration agents and local police. It follows the federal government's threats of criminal charges and funding cuts to what are known as sanctuary cities.

“The conduct of officials in Chicago and Illinois minimally enforcing — and oftentimes affirmatively thwarting — federal immigration laws over a period of years has resulted in countless criminals being released into Chicago who should have been held for immigration removal from the United States," according to the lawsuit filed in Chicago's federal court.

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Senate vote could put Project 2025 architect in charge of Trump's budget office

The Senate was headed for a confirmation vote Thursday night on Russell Vought, President Donald Trump’s nominee for White House budget director, who is planning to use one of the most powerful positions in federal government to zealously expand the president's power.

The Thursday night vote was planned after Democrats had exhausted their only remaining tool to stonewall a nomination — holding the Senate floor throughout the previous night and day with a series of speeches where they warned Vought was Trump's “most dangerous nominee.”

“Confirming the most radical nominee, who has the most extreme agenda, to the most important agency in Washington,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a floor speech. “Triple-header of disaster for hardworking Americans.”

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Egypt lobbies against Trump plan to empty Gaza of Palestinians as Israel makes preparations

Israel says it has begun preparations for the departure of Palestinians from Gaza despite international rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to empty the territory of its population. Egypt has launched a diplomatic blitz behind the scenes against the proposal, warning it would put its peace deal with Israel at risk, officials said.

Trump administration officials have tried to dial back aspects of the proposal after it was widely rejected internationally, saying the relocation of Palestinians would be temporary. But officials have provided few details.

In a social media post Thursday, Trump said that the Palestinians would be “resettled in far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes,” after which Israel would turn Gaza over to the United States. No U.S. soldiers would be needed for his plan to redevelop it, he said. Hours later, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted again that the relocations would be temporary, with Palestinians living "somewhere else in the interim,” while Gaza is cleaned up and rebuilt.

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2nd federal judge in 2 days blocks President Trump's birthright citizenship order

A second federal judge in two days has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally.

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle on Thursday decried what he described as the administration’s treatment of the Constitution and said Trump was trying to change it with an executive order.

The latest proceeding came just a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case involving immigrants' rights groups and pregnant women whose soon-to-born children could be affected.

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Trump's Gaza plan shocks the world but finds support in Israel

President Donald Trump’s plan to seek U.S. ownership of the Gaza Strip and move out its population infuriated the Arab world. It stunned American allies and other global powers and even flummoxed members of Trump’s own party. The reaction in Israel was starkly different.

The idea of removing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza — once relegated to the fringes of political discourse in the country — has found fertile ground in an Israeli public traumatized by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and grasping for ways to feel secure again after the deadliest assault in their country’s history.

Jewish Israeli politicians across the spectrum either embraced the idea wholeheartedly or expressed openness to it. Newspaper columns praised its audacity and TV commentators debated how the idea could practically be set in motion. The country’s defense minister ordered the military to plan for its eventual implementation.

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Trump meets with congressional Republicans as GOP lawmakers argue over tax and spending cuts

President Donald Trump is meeting privately with congressional Republicans at the White House on Thursday as his allies on Capitol Hill are arguing with themselves over the size, scope and details of his “big, beautiful bill” to cut taxes, regulations and government spending.

The House and Senate GOP leaders are looking to Trump for direction on how to proceed, but so far the president has been noncommittal about the details — only pushing Congress for results.

The standoff is creating frustration for Republicans as precious time is slipping and they fail to make progress on what has been their top priority with their party in control in Washington. At the same time, congressional phone lines are being swamped with callers protesting Trump's cost-cutting efforts led by billionaire Elon Musk against federal programs, services and operations.

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Trump blames 'obsolete' U.S. air traffic control system for the plane and chopper collision near D.C.

President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed last week's deadly collision of a passenger jet and Army helicopter on what he called an “obsolete” computer system used by U.S. air traffic controllers, and he vowed to replace it.

Trump said during an event that “a lot of mistakes happened” on Jan. 29 when an American Airlines flight out of Wichita, Kansas, collided with an Army helicopter as the plane was about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, killing all 67 people on board the two aircraft.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, Trump blamed diversity hiring programs for the crash. But on Thursday, he blamed the computer system used by the country's air traffic controllers.

“It’s amazing that it happened,” Trump said during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol. “And I think that’s going to be used for good. I think what is going to happen is we’re all going to sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers. Brand new — not pieced together, obsolete.”

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Musk uses his X ownership and White House position to push Trump priorities, intimidate detractors

WASHINGTON — The emergence of X owner Elon Musk as the most influential figure around President Donald Trump has created an extraordinary dynamic — a White House adviser who's using one of the world’s most powerful information platforms to sell the government’s talking points while intimidating its detractors.

In recent days, Musk has used X to promote Trump's positions to his 215 million followers, attack an agency he's trying to shut down as “evil” and claim a Treasury employee who resigned under pressure over payment system access committed a crime.

His use of the social media platform he owns has become both a cudgel and a megaphone for the Republican administration at a time that his power to shape the electorate’s perspective is only growing, as more Americans turn to social media and influencers to get their news.

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Trump urges Americans to 'bring God back into our lives' in National Prayer Breakfast speech

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that his relationship with religion had “changed” after a pair of failed assassination attempts last year, as he advocated at the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol for Americans to “bring God back" into their lives.

Trump joined a more than 70-year-old Washington tradition that brings together a bipartisan group of lawmakers for fellowship.

“I really believe you can’t be happy without religion, without that belief," Trump said at the Capitol. “Let’s bring religion back. Let’s bring God back into our lives.”

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Trump's U.S. trade negotiator pick vows hardline policies

WASHINGTON — Jamieson Greer, President Donald Trump's choice to be the top U.S. trade negotiator, promised to pursue the president's hardline trade policies.

Trump's protectionist approach to trade — involving the heavy use of taxes on foreign goods — will give Americans "the opportunity to work in good-paying jobs producing goods and services they can sell in this market and abroad to earn an honest living,'' Greer said in remarks prepared ahead of his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Finance Committee.

As U.S. trade representative, Greer would have responsibility — along with Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick — for one of Trump's top policy priorities: waging or at least threatening trade war with countries around the world, America's friends and foes alike.

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