73 m. ago US judge blocks Trump’s suspension of refugee resettlement program

US district judge in Seattle says Trump’s executive order exceeded his powers by shutting down programA federal judge has blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to suspend the US’s refugee admission system after ruling that the move exceeded his powers.The ruling, from US district judge Jamal Whitehead, stated that Trump’s executive order affecting refugee admissions, issued on the day of his inauguration, amounted to an illegal usurpation of the powers of Congress. Continue reading...

Events

3 h. ago A federal judge in Seattle blocks Trump’s effort to halt the refugee admissions system

A federal judge in Seattle has blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to halt the nation’s refugee admissions system

Events

4 h. ago Judge gives Trump administration two days to unfreeze funds for US foreign aid

A federal judge has given the Trump administration less than two days to release billions of dollars in blocked funding for U.S. foreign aid

Politics

8 h. ago Starmer must take baton from Macron in effort to sway Trump on Ukraine

UK and France need to convince US to align with them over Ukraine, while at the UN Trump openly sides with RussiaKeir Starmer, when he visits the White House on Thursday, will have to pick up the many loose threads left by another chaotic day of diplomacy in the US in which America voted with Russia at the UN to protect Vladimir Putin from criticism over the invasion of Ukraine, and then saw Trump make assurances that Putin was happy for European forces to enter Ukraine – only to be contradicted by Moscow hours later.Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has been working in lockstep with the UK in a way the two countries have failed to since Brexit, and the aim was for the two leaders of Europe’s major military powers to use their visits this week to operate as a pincer movement pressing Trump to question Putin’s trustworthiness and more broadly to accept that America’s future still lay as a partner with Europe. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago Musk issues new ultimatum to federal workers after 'what did you do last week?' email sparked meltdown

Elon Musk plans to use a controversial method to judge federal workers' response to the DOGE chairman's 'what did you do last week?' email request to determine which employees to fire.

Politics

23 h. ago Judge rejects immediately restoring AP's access to White House but urges government to reconsider

A federal judge has refused to immediately order the White House to restore The Associated Press’ access to presidential events, saying the news organization had not shown it had suffered irreparable harm in the matter

Events

32 h. ago ‘Toddler management’ of Trump may be behind Ukraine’s hints at rare earth minerals deal

There is a rapidly evolving pan-European effort to gently massage Donald Trump’s ego as talks between Europe, US, Ukraine and Russia reach a crucial stage

Politics

34 h. ago Confusion at US agencies over whether to comply with Elon Musk email demanding workers justify their jobs – US politics live

Government agencies give conflicting advice after email from Elon Musk demanding employees list accomplishments from past weekThe Trump administration has blocked a crucial step in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) process for funding medical research, likely in violation of a federal judge’s temporary restraining order on federal funding freezes.The NIH has stopped submitting study sections – meetings in which scientists peer review NIH grant funding proposals – to the Federal Register after the Trump administration paused health agency communications. By law, study sections must appear on the register 15 days in advance of meetings.Those who ignored President Trump’s executive order to return to work have now received over a month’s warning.Starting this week, those who still fail to return to office will be placed on administrative leave. Continue reading...

Politics

56 h. ago Trump halts medical research funding in apparent violation of judge’s order

Health department orders NIH to hold Federal Register submissions – critical step in process for funding studiesThe Trump administration has blocked a crucial step in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) process for funding medical research, likely in violation of a federal judge’s temporary restraining order on federal funding freezes.The NIH has stopped submitting study sections – meetings in which scientists peer review NIH grant funding proposals – to the Federal Register after the Trump administration paused health agency communications. By law, study sections must appear on the register 15 days in advance of meetings. Continue reading...

Politics

56 h. ago ‘We are pissed’: opposition to Trump, slow to energize, now shakes off its slumber

The slash-and-burn approach of Trump and his ‘Doge’ head Elon Musk has reinvigorated resistance to the Republican administrationOn a bright winter’s day this week, a group of protesters fanned out along a palm tree-lined thoroughfare in the picturesque city of Palm Desert to demand that their Republican congressman stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn effort to reshape the American government. “You work for us, not Musk!” read one sign. “Remember your oath,” another warned, as a mobile billboard circled nearby, featuring the president and the billionaire tech mogul, with the message: “When he’s snooping through your bank accounts, you dump him.”The group, dozens strong, cheered wildly when the driver of a white Tesla turned the corner and laid on his horn. A smaller contingent of constituents had attempted to secure a meeting with the congressman, Ken Calvert, but found the door of his regional office locked and the blinds drawn. Continue reading...

Politics

56 h. ago ‘Heinous actions’: opposition to Trump, slow to energize, shakes off its slumber

The slash-and-burn approach of Trump and his ‘Doge’ head Musk has reinvigorated resistance to the administrationOn a bright winter’s day this week, a group of protesters fanned out along a palm tree-lined thoroughfare in the picturesque city of Palm Desert to demand that their Republican congressman stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn effort to reshape the American government. “You work for us, not Musk!” read one sign. “Remember your oath,” another warned, as a mobile billboard circled nearby, featuring the president and the billionaire tech mogul, with the message: “When he’s snooping through your bank accounts, you dump him.”The group, dozens strong, cheered wildly when the driver of a white Tesla turned the corner and laid on his horn. A smaller contingent of constituents had attempted to secure a meeting with the congressman, Ken Calvert, but found the door of his regional office locked and the blinds drawn. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Federal judge blasts Trump administration for dodging order to resume USAID funding after freeze

Department of Justice continues to drag its feet on court orders

Politics

3 d. ago Judge upholds ban on DOGE accessing sensitive Treasury information, for now

A federal judge in Manhattan has 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

Events

3 d. ago Judge blocks Trump’s executive order ending federal support for DEI programs

A federal judge has blocked a sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump that sought to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion

Politics

3 d. ago Judge reopens challenge to Louisiana execution protocol as state prepares to use nitrogen gas

A federal judge has reopened a lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s execution protocol as the state prepares to carry out the death penalty using nitrogen gas in the coming weeks

Events

4 d. ago Judge appoints monitor to oversee agreement to reform Georgia's Fulton County Jail

A federal judge has appointed a lead monitor with three decades of experience in corrections to oversee a consent decree meant to address dangerous and unhealthy jail conditions in Georgia’s most populous county

Events

4 d. ago Justice Department files complaint against judge weighing challenge to Trump’s transgender troop ban

The Justice Department has filed a complaint 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

Politics

4 d. ago Judge rejects DoJ call to immediately dismiss Eric Adams corruption case

Outside lawyer appointed to present arguments against prosecutors seeking to drop case against New York mayorA New York judge on Friday said he would not immediately dismiss Eric Adams’s corruption case, but ordered the Democratic New York City mayor’s trial delayed indefinitely after the justice department asked for the charges to be dismissed.In a written ruling, the US district judge Dale Ho in Manhattan said he would appoint an outside lawyer, Paul Clement of the law firm Clement & Murphy PLLC, to present arguments against the federal prosecutors’ bid to dismiss, in order to help the judge make his decision. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Experienced workers, not just rookies, get cut as Trump slashes probationary employees

President Donald Trump has been cutting probationary employees as part of his effort to downsize the federal workforce

Politics

4 d. ago Senate passes budget funding Trump’s mass deportations; federal workers brace for more firings – US politics live

Senate Republicans approve spending plan that will pay for hardline immigration policies; mass layoffs get all-clear after judge lifts blockMass firings could cause ‘monumental’ bill, say expertsThe defense department will delay a plan to fire civilian employees on probation as it assess whether the move complies with the law and if it affects military readiness, CNN reports.The cuts were to be made as part of Donald Trump’s effort to dramatically downsize the federal government, which is being led by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”. Here’s more, from CNN:The pause comes after CNN reported on Wednesday that the mass terminations, which could affect over 50,000 civilian employees across the Pentagon, could run afoul of Title 10 section 129a of the US code. Following that report, Pentagon lawyers began reviewing the legality of the planned terminations more closely, the officials said.That law says that the secretary of defense “may not reduce the civilian workforce ...

Politics