A judge extends the pause on Trump’s plan to put USAID workers on leave
The Trump administration’s controversial plan to put thousands of staffers for the U.S. Agency for International Development on paid leave will remain on pause at least through Feb. 21, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated by President Trump, released the court order soon after holding a court hearing, which had been rescheduled from Wednesday because of a snowstorm in Washington, D.C.
The decision comes after the court temporarily blocked the administration last week from carrying out a push to shrink the workforce at USAID, an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1961, and recall employees stationed abroad to the United States.
At Thursday’s hearing, the judge said by next week, he plans to release another ruling on whether the ongoing pause will continue past Feb. 21, among other issues. Nichols has also asked Justice Department attorneys to provide the court with more information by Friday on how the Trump administration plans to ensure that the safety of overseas USAID employees who are put on leave would not be put at risk as well as what would happen to their regular non-salary benefits.
This lawsuit — led by the American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing foreign service officers and other USAID workers — is one of three ongoing legal challenges to efforts by the Trump administration to gut the agency and stop most foreign aid.
The attempt to shut down USAID has set off a scramble by U.S. government employees worldwide, including many in high-risk locations overseas, to prepare for an end to their work while not knowing how long they can keep accessing internal systems for email, payments and security warnings.
At the Supreme Court, the case of the candidate who sued, even though he won
At issue was a suit by Rep. Michael Bost, R-Ill., challenging an Illinois regulation that allows ballots mailed in by Election Day to be counted for up to 14 days after polls close.
Israel and Hamas agree on the ‘first phase’ of Gaza ceasefire deal
The deal raises the possibility that the war may now be over, ending the bloodiest fighting ever between Israelis and Palestinians.
After Spain’s blackout, critics blamed renewable energy. It’s part of a bigger attack
When millions lost power in Spain and Portugal this spring, some were quick to blame too much solar and wind power. That wasn't the cause, but the misinformation had an impact.
‘Fairyland’ recalls a girl’s life with her poet father in pre-AIDS San Francisco
Alysia Abbott's memoir about growing up in 1970s San Francisco with her gay, single father, has been adapted into a film directed by Andrew Durham and produced by Sofia Coppola.
Los Angeles: Spaghetti Cumbia, a band born from cultural fusion
Photographers and storytellers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky document cumbia music in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.
What are your holiday shopping plans? NPR wants to hear from you
Is this the season of cutbacks or splurges? As we prepare to cover holiday shopping and deals, NPR wants to hear from you, whatever your plans may be.