The Trump administration has urged government workers to quit their "lower productivity jobs" and seek work in the private sector, and to take a vacation to a "dream destination," sparking outrage among civil servants. The guidance issued on Thursday night comes as President Donald Trump embarks on a massive makeover of the U.S. government, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants in his first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and installing more loyalists. The Trump administration sent a memo to 2 million government workers on Tuesday about a "deferred resignation program" that would allow them to remain on the payroll through Sept. 30 but without having to work in person.
In the first serious fallout from President Donald Trump's early actions against offshore wind power, oil and gas giant Shell is walking away from a major project off the coast of New Jersey. Shell told The Associated Press it is writing off the project, citing increased competition, delays and a changing market. “Naturally we also take regulatory context into consideration,” spokesperson Natalie Gunnell said in an email.
As gold futures touched new records on Friday, Goldman Sachs analysts reiterated their bullish call on the precious metal.
While a man pardoned by Trump was fatally shot by a deputy during a Jan. 26 traffic stop, the second death mentioned in the posts happened in 2024.
Schools and universities responding to complaints of sexual misconduct must return to policies created during President Donald Trump's first term, with requirements for live hearings and more protections for accused students, according to new guidance issued Friday by the Education Department. In a memo to education institutions across the nation, the agency clarified that Title IX, a 1972 law barring discrimination based on sex, will be enforced according to a set of rules created by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The rules govern how complaints of misconduct are investigated and how to settle cases where students present differing accounts.
Census Bureau Director Robert Santos’ resignation will allow Trump to reshape the agency.
A man who appeared to be suffering from a “behavioral crisis” walked into the entrance of a Baltimore courthouse and shot himself in the head after authorities tried to interact with him before a security area, the city's police commissioner said. The 35-year-old man was in critical condition at an area hospital, Police Commissioner Richard Worley said. “As he went into the courthouse, it was clear he was suffering from a behavioral crisis," Worley said at a news conference outside of the district courthouse.
Bill to pay for multi-cancer early detection screening test has bipartisan support, but just ran out of time last session.
Rwanda-backed rebels were expanding their presence in eastern Congo after capturing Goma, the region's major city, the U.N. said Friday, also expressing concerns over executions it learned were carried out by the rebels in recent days following a major escalation of their yearslong rebellion. Congolese forces, meanwhile, repelled the rebels in their offensive towards South Kivu's provincial capital of Bakuvu on Thursday, residents and local officials said. The M23 rebel group has captured several towns after seizing neighboring Goma, a humanitarian hub critical for many of the 6 million people displaced by the conflict.
Sierra Space has passed yet another major benchmark—one that didn’t involve inflating (and subsequently popping) space station module models. According to the startup’s January 29 update, the company’s retro-futuristic spaceplane, Dream Chaser, recently demonstrated the ability to handle critical payloads destined for the International Space Station. Beyond the ISS, Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Cargo System […]
Dual U.S.-Israeli national Keith Seigel is among the 3 hostages expected to be released by Hamas in the fourth swap with Israel.
Gov. JB Pritzker is blocking those who took part in the Jan. 6 riots from jobs in Illinois state government.
"The ground beneath our feet is perpetually shifting. And it’s hard to keep our balance," writes Alissa Quart.
Startup DeekSeek is highlighting advances in China's AI industry. The Trump administration is weighing new restrictions on sending AI chips to China.
The Grayscale Dogecoin Trust will offer investors an opportunity to gain exposure to a token that the company believes has "transitioned from a memecoin... to a tool for global financial inclusion and a viable means of payment". Investors are hunting for gains beyond bitcoin, and firms like Grayscale are looking to tap into the growing popularity of altcoins — a term used for crypto tokens other than the world's biggest cryptocurrency. "Dogecoin is helping groups underserved by legacy financial infrastructure to participate in the financial system," said Rayhaneh Sharif-Askary, Grayscale's head of product and research.
The fall of Bashar Assad in Syria has led Iran-allied factions in neighboring Iraq to reconsider their push for U.S. forces to exit the country, multiple Iraqi and American officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with U.S. forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country. Political and armed factions linked to Iran had been among the loudest voices calling for a U.S. exit from Iraq — particularly after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack in southern Israel and Israel’s ensuing bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza.
Officials said the order, which was later rescinded, didn't affect FAFSA because the order excluded programs providing direct benefits to individuals.
Moldovan opposition leader Alexandr Stoianoglo, who was defeated at a presidential vote in November, said on Friday he was taking the helm of a coalition of three parties to challenge the pro-Western ruling majority at this year's parliamentary election. The former prosecutor general came closer than expected to unseating pro-Western President Maia Sandu last year, losing in a run-off after campaigning for a balanced foreign policy that would look to Russia as well as West. The parliamentary election, which must be held by Oct. 11 but has not been scheduled yet, is expected to be closely fought and could significantly reduce the number of seats held by Sandu's pro-Western PAS party.
A famous dragon sculpture that spits out real fire is going to be a little less dramatic this month. The Wawel Dragon–or Smok Wawelski–in Krakow, Poland will have to hold its fiery breath so that authorities can see why it has been guzzling too much fuel lately. Krzysztof Wojdowski, spokesman for Krakow’s road infrastructure office, […]
The Ministry of National Defense launched a disciplinary inquiry into the graduation ceremony after a video emerged showing about 400 graduates raising their swords and chanting “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal” — a reference to the secular founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — after the formal ceremony had ended. The graduates also took the Officer’s Oath about defending a secular and democratic Turkey, which was discontinued in 2022.
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