12 h. ago Cory Booker didn’t go to the bathroom for 25 hours. Is that OK?

The Democrat delivered the longest Senate speech in history. We asked urologists one pressing question about itOn Monday evening, Cory Booker, a Democratic senator for New Jersey, took the floor to denounce the harm he believes Donald Trump and his administration have inflicted on the United States. “Our country is in crisis,” he said, decrying the economic chaos, mass layoffs and tyrannical acts of the administration’s first 71 days. He stopped speaking 25 hours and five minutes later, making it the longest Senate speech in history.Many praised Booker for the rousing political act. Some were also impressed by a particular physical feat: namely, he seemingly didn’t pee once the whole time. (A rep for Booker confirmed to TMZ that he did not wear a diaper during his speech.) Continue reading...

Politics

45 h. ago US health agency layoffs gut mine safety, infertility and smoking programs

Thousands lost jobs as sweeping cuts reshape public health, leaving experts and lawmakers scrambling From experts in mine safety to smoking and infertility – mass layoffs hit branch after branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s plan to downsize nearly a quarter of the 82,000-person workforce took effect.Even as the sprawling nature of layoffs became apparent on Tuesday, a complete accounting was elusive. Layoffs were undertaken with few public details, with even apoplectic congressional lawmakers left in the dark. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Thousands of workers at nation's health agencies brace for mass layoffs

As they readied to leave work Monday, some workers at the Food and Drug Administration were told to pack their laptops and prepare for the possibility that they wouldn’t be back

Politics

3 d. ago More than 1,900 scientists write letter in ‘SOS’ over Trump’s attacks on science

Members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine warned Americans of ‘real danger in this moment’More than 1,900 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine signed an open letter warning Americans about the “danger” of the Trump administration’s attacks on science.The letter comes amid the administration’s relentless assault on US scientific institutions which has included threats to private universities, federal grant cancelations and ideological funding reviews, mass government layoffs, resignations and censorship. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Concerns about espionage rise as Trump and Musk fire thousands of federal workers

Mass layoffs and resignations at the federal government are prompting concerns that a disgruntled former employee may seek to sell secrets to a foreign power

Politics

3 w. ago Judge orders DOGE to turn over top secret records and demands Musk justify mass federal layoffs

On Wednesday, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan turned the tables on DOGE three weeks after Musk's 'what did you do last week' email to staffers sparked mass protests.

Events

3 w. ago Most AAPI adults don't support cutting agencies and want a focus on costs: AP

A new AP-NORC/AAPI Data poll shows that most Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders do not agree with the strategy of putting entire federal agencies on the chopping block, nor are they broadly on board with mass layoffs of federal workers

Politics

3 w. ago US unemployment rate rises to 4.1% as economy added 151,000 new jobs in February – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including February’s US jobs reportUS job market grows amid threats of mass federal layoffs and Trump tariffsThis has also been a rough week for the oil price.Brent crude, the international benchmark, has dropped by 4% so far this week to just over $70 per barrel.Trump paused tariffs and the market sold off. The old adage that the market hates uncertainty rings true. How the heck are you supposed to make investments or plan?The Nasdaq ended the session down 2.6%, while the S&P 500 finished 1.78% lower. Both are headed for weekly losses of around the 4% mark. Continue reading...

Society

4 w. ago White House plans to expand mass layoffs to IRS and Veterans Affairs

Trump administration looks to axe half up to half of the tax agency’s workforce and fire up to 83,000 workers at the VAUS politics live – latest updatesMass layoffs are being planned for two more vital federal US government agencies as the IRS and Veteran Affairs have emerged as the latest targets of the Trump administration’s unprecedented purge through billionaire Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge), new reports suggest.The IRS is drafting plans to slash its 90,000-strong workforce by up to half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and buyouts, according to the Associated Press. The federal tax collector has offices across the country, with women accounting for 65% of the workforce, while people of color represent 56%. Continue reading...

Society

last month Trump administration briefing: trade turmoil, Zelenskyy peace offer and British fury at Vance

As the world awaits Donald Trump’s first key speech to Congress in second term, here are the key US politics stories from Tuesday at a glanceIn Donald Trump’s first address to Congress since returning to the White House – and his first major speech in a chilling six weeks in office – the president claimed a mandate justifying his sweeping executive orders, despite having won the popular vote by 1.5 points – the smallest margin for any successful presidential candidate since Richard Nixon in 1968.Trump’s second term has already seen him initiate sweeping mass layoffs of federal employees, and mobilize officers from nearly every federal law enforcement agency and the US military to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations. He has rattled Europe and other American allies with his pursuit of a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on terms preferential to Moscow. Continue reading...

Politics