Deportation fears spread among immigrants with provisional legal status
Bearing Social Security numbers and employment authorization, workers who recently arrived from places like Haiti and Venezuela have been packing and sorting orders at Amazon; making car parts for Toyota and Honda; and working in hotels, restaurants and assisted-living facilities.
Sweeping halt to foreign aid does not apply to arms for Israel and Egypt
A sudden and sweeping halt to U.S. foreign aid by the Trump administration does not apply to weapons support to Israel and Egypt and emergency food assistance, according to a memo issued by the department to bureaus and U.S. missions overseas Friday.
Israel swaps Palestinian prisoners for Gaza hostages
JERUSALEM — Hamas on Saturday released four female Israeli soldiers held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in a choreographed ceremony that was the latest sign of the group’s effort to project power despite Israel’s 470-day military campaign to dislodge it.
South Korea to release preliminary report of Jeju Air crash by Monday
SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea will release by Monday a preliminary report on last month’s Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people, the deadliest air disaster on the nation’s soil, the transport ministry said on Saturday.
Musk plan for retooling government takes shape, but big questions loom
WASHINGTON — The initial plan for retooling the federal government under President Donald Trump started with three loyal billionaires: banker Howard Lutnick, tech leader Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Touring storm damage, Trump suggests FEMA should be shut down
President Donald Trump mused Friday about shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying that states could do a better job at responding to disasters.
Vance casts tiebreaking vote for Hegseth
WASHINGTON — The Senate narrowly confirmed Pete Hegseth as defense secretary Friday after he survived a bruising struggle with Democrats who decried the Trump nominee as unqualified and unfit to oversee the country’s 1.3 million active duty troops and the Pentagon’s nearly $850 billion budget.
Trump’s DEI order creates ‘fear and confusion’ among corporate leaders
More than 200 diversity officers, some from Fortune 500 companies and some from nonprofits, gathered last summer at the New York University School of Law and on video to talk about the future of their diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs, which had become a legal and social target. Anxiously, they wondered how to protect themselves. Did they need to rethink internship programs for underrepresented workers, or drop certain diversity language from their websites?
Sensing political support, abortion opponents raise ambitions
Anti-abortion activists are charging ahead with their ultimate mission to end all abortions nationwide, freshly emboldened by powerful allies in Washington, a continued Supreme Court majority and legislative opportunities in conservative states.
Trump terminates Fauci’s government security protection
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that he had terminated taxpayer-financed security protection for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease specialist who led the nation through the coronavirus pandemic and received death threats after becoming a target of conservatives.
Ukraine sends volley of drones at Russia, hitting oil refinery
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine fired a large volley of exploding drones at Russia on Friday, according to Ukrainian officials and the Russian military, in a barrage that set an oil refinery and pumping station on fire and briefly closed multiple airports, including several serving Moscow.
Hamas names four Israeli female soldier hostages to be freed in second swap
CAIRO/JERUSALEM — Palestinian militant group Hamas announced the names on Friday of four Israeli female soldier hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in the second swap under the ceasefire deal in Gaza.
As Washington unveils pandas, China cracks down on their biggest fans
Visitors descended on Washington’s National Zoo on Friday to witness the cheery unveiling of two pandas on loan from China. Fans posted photos and videos to social media, as did the zoo under the hashtag #DCPandas.
Trump’s pick for commerce secretary reveals positions at more than 800 companies
WASHINGTON — Howard Lutnick, the wealthy Wall Street executive whom President Donald Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Commerce, detailed a complex network of financial holdings Friday as he prepared to face scrutiny from lawmakers during a confirmation hearing next week.
Purdue, Sackler family reach new $7.4 billion opioid accord
Bankrupt Purdue Pharma LP and its owners have agreed to pay $7.4 billion to a group of U.S. states and other parties to settle long-running litigation over OxyContin’s role in the deadly opioid epidemic.
Massive new Los Angeles-area fire balloons as winds pick up
CASTAIC, California — Powerful winds and bone-dry conditions could pose a challenge to firefighters battling new wildfires in southern California on Thursday, including a blaze that swelled over the past day and forced tens of thousands of evacuations north of Los Angeles.
Netflix musical ‘Emilia Perez’ piles up 13 Oscar nominations
LOS ANGELES — The Netflix movie musical “Emilia Perez” led the Academy Award nominations on Thursday, giving the streaming service another shot at its first best-picture trophy, followed by historical drama “The Brutalist” and box-office smash “Wicked.”
Rebels Backed by Rwanda Close In on Major City in Congo
DAKAR, Senegal — Rebels in Congo have surrounded the eastern city of Goma, in one of the sharpest escalations in years of a conflict that has pitted the Central African country against its neighbor Rwanda.
Trump Issues Executive Order to Support the Growth of Cryptocurrencies
President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order to support the growth of the cryptocurrency industry, calling for a new plan to regulate a business in which he has substantial personal investments.
Trump pulls the military back into political and culture wars
WASHINGTON — In his early-days blitz, President Donald Trump fired the first woman to ever lead a military service branch, signed an order to send active-duty U.S. troops to the border and said he was reinstating, with back pay, former service members who had refused to take COVID-19 vaccinations, a breach of military health rules.
