In a speech before the United Nation’s General Assembly, a representative of President Donald Trump ’s administration rejected the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Edward Heartney, a minister-counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, called the 2030 agenda “a program of soft global governance that is inconsistent with U.S. sovereignty and adverse to the rights and interests of Americans.”

Trump also said he’s “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs on Russia in hopes of forcing a settlement to the war in Ukraine, and he sent a letter to Iran’s leaders seeking to negotiate a nuclear deal.

In economic news, uncertainty in world markets continues after Trump declared a weeks-long delay of tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada.

Here’s the latest:

Expert tells judge to dismiss charges against NYC mayor without allowing refiling of them

A former U.S. solicitor general brought in to help a federal judge decide whether to accept a Justice Department request to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams recommended Friday that the charges be dropped but that the government not be allowed to refile them at a later date.

In a written submission, Paul Clement told Judge Dale E. Ho that there was “ample reason” to dismiss the prosecution without allowing the Justice Department to refile them after this year’s mayoral election.

Ho appointed Clement after Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove defended the Justice Department’s request at a hearing, saying the charges came too close to Adams’ reelection campaign and would distract the mayor from assisting the Trump administration’s law-and-order priorities.

▶ Read more about the recommendation to drop charges against Adams

Rubio calls French counterpart to discuss Trump’s desire for peace between Russia and Ukraine

The call on Friday came ahead of a meeting in Saudi Arabia next week that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s national security adviser Michael Waltz and Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff will hold with senior Ukrainian officials.

In the call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Rubio “emphasized President Trump’s determination to achieve, through negotiations, a just and lasting peace, and stressed the United States will continue working with France towards this end.”

Trump has alarmed France and other European nations with his criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Europe more broadly.

Out of the lab and into the streets, researchers and doctors rally for science against Trump cuts

Researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to stand up to what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration.

In the nation’s capital, a couple thousand gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally. Organizers said similar rallies were planned in more than 30 U.S. cities.

Politicians, scientists, musicians, doctors and their patients were expected to make the case that firings, budget and grant cuts in health, climate, science and other research government agencies in the Trump administration’s first 47 days in office are endangering not just the future but the present.

“Science is under attack in the United States,” said rally co-organizer Colette Delawalla, a doctoral student in clinical psychology. “We’re not just going to stand here and take it.”

▶ Read more about the Stand Up for Science rally

Trump hosts first White House digital assets summit

Trump discussed an executive order establishing a government reserve of bitcoin, a key marker in the cryptocurrency’s journey towards possible mainstream acceptance.

Trump likened the reserve to a “virtual Fort Knox for digital gold” that will be housed within the U.S. Treasury. He said the federal government is among the largest holders of bitcoin, with an estimated 200,000 bitcoin seized from criminal and civil proceedings.

“We want to stay at the forefront of everything,” Trump said.

A South Carolina man has been detained following accusations that he threatened to kill Trump

Travis Keith Lang, of Irmo, was arrested on Thursday and arraigned on Friday before a federal judge in Columbia.

The 47-year-old pleaded not guilty. He is being detained pending a bond hearing scheduled for March 14. The Secret Service is investigating.

A short indictment was filed in federal court on Tuesday. It says Lang threatened to “take the life of, to kidnap, and to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States.”

Lang filed with the Federal Election Commission to run for president as a Republican in 2024. According to FEC filings, his only campaign donation was $6,000 he gave himself.

Trump denies Musk and Rubio clash over DOGE cuts

Trump denied reports that there was a clash between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Elon Musk over sweeping government cuts during a Cabinet meeting at the White House this week.

“No clash, I was there,” Trump told reporters Friday afternoon.

Trump said immediately after the Thursday meeting that he instructed the Cabinet secretaries to work with Musk, the billionaire overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency’s widespread cuts to the government.

“Elon gets along great with Marco,” Trump said Friday. “And they’re both doing a fantastic job. There is no clash.”

Trump creates task force for next year’s World Cup

Trump announced that he’s creating a task force to prepare for the World Cup, which will be held in North America next year.

Soccer’s biggest tournament will have games spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico over the course of a month. It’s expected to draw millions of tourists to the continent from around the world.

Trump met Friday with officials from FIFA, the international soccer governing body.

“It’s a great honor for our country to have it,” Trump told reporters. He said he’d like to attend multiple games.

Trump administration cancels $400 million in grants and contracts with Columbia University

Education Secretary Linda McMahon cites what she describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism.

“Columbia has abandoned that obligation to Jewish students studying on its campus,” McMahon said in a statement Friday.

Columbia set up a new disciplinary committee and ramped up its own investigations of students critical of Israel, alarming free speech advocates. But Columbia’s efforts evidently didn’t go far enough.

Columbia has become the first target in Trump’s campaign to cut federal money to colleges accused of tolerating antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war. University officials vowed to work with the Trump administration to get the funding restored.

— Read more about Columbia University

In 2015, Obama committed US to UN goals for 2030. Trump just rejected them

The 17 “sustainable development goals” included ending poverty, achieving gender equality and urgently tackling climate change.

The Trump administration now says it “rejects and denounces” them. Others included providing clean water and sanitation for all people, quality education for every child and promoting good health and economic growth.

Edward Heartney, a minister-counselor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said these goals “advance a program of soft global governance that is inconsistent with U.S. sovereignty and adverse to the rights and interests of Americans.”

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said all 193 member states voted unanimously to deliver on the goals, and that the U.N. is holding onto it’s guiding principles “to advance a world of peace, prosperity and dignity for all.”

Bragg to Liberty and back again: Army post once named for a Confederate is rechristened

Fort Liberty’s short-lived existence came to an end Friday when the nation’s largest Army installation officially returned to its former name: Fort Bragg.

Christened a century ago to honor Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg, the post in North Carolina was renamed in 2023 amid a drive to remove symbols of the Confederacy from public spaces.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s order reinstating the Bragg name instead honors Army Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II paratrooper and Silver Star recipient from Maine.

A few hundred members of the military and civilians gathered under black and yellow tents outside base headquarters to watch the ceremony.

▶ Read more about Fort Bragg’s rededication

Cuts are coming for the Social Security Administration’s office footprint and workforce

But — at least for the moment — benefits for the nation’s more than 70 million Social Security recipients should still be on track.

On its website, DOGE lists 47 Social Security field offices set for closure across the U.S. The agency says some were unused or set to shutter before Trump took office, but Democratic are warning that constituents could suffer.

Earlier this week, a person familiar with the agency’s plans but not authorized to speak about them publicly said that the Social Security Administration was preparing to lay off at least 7,000 people from its workforce of 60,000.

Musk and Trump seem to differ a bit on the agency’s future: Musk has called Social Security a “Ponzi scheme,” while Trump has said benefits “won’t be touched.”

▶ Read more on how recipients will be affected

Former EPA administrator: Trump order on plastic straws will ‘Make America Suck Again’

Gina McCarthy, a former White House climate adviser and EPA administrator, is taking aim at President Trump for signing an executive order banning paper straws.

McCarthy, who served in two Democratic administrations, wrote in a sarcastic essay in McSweeney’s that only a man of Trump’s “stature, extraordinary power, intellect, sensitivity and unwavering focus on the needs of the American people” would find time to address the “insidious” issue of the “continued forced sucking of paper straws.”

Trump’s order will allow Americans to “fully embrace our patriotic duty to Make America Suck Again by ensuring that only plastic straws remain accessible in our towns, cities, states, businesses — and most importantly our schools,” she wrote.

TSA leader says breaking its contract with airport workers aligns with Trump vision

Acting TSA Administrator Adam Stahl said in a note to staff that Noem’s treatment of transportation security officers aligns with a vision that aims at “maximizing government productivity and efficiency and ensuring that our workforce can respond swiftly and effectively to evolving threats.”

“By removing the constraints of collective bargaining, TSOs will be able to operate with greater flexibility and responsiveness, ensuring the highest level of security and efficiency in protecting the American public,” Stahl wrote.

Breaking the contract, Stahl wrote, aims at “ensuring employee inclusivity and restoring meritocracy to the workforce.”

Stahl said the agency “will establish alternative procedures” to address employee concerns and grievances “in a fair and transparent manner.”

TSA union vows to fight ‘unprovoked attack’ by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

The American Federation of Government Employees represents roughly 47,000 transportation security officers whose collective bargaining agreement is being unilaterally revoked by the Trump administration.

These workers are responsible for making sure every day that hundreds of thousands of passengers in airports nationwide don’t carry weapons or explosives.

The union said Noem is violating their right to collective bargaining and that the Trump administration “completely fabricated” its reasons for ending their union protections.

The AFGE represents roughly 800,000 federal workers and has been pushing back on many of the administration’s cuts.

“Now our TSA officers are paying the price with this clearly retaliatory action,” the union said.

▶ Read more about Trump and the TSA

Trump planning new tariffs on Canadian lumber and dairy products

President Donald Trump said Friday he plans to impose what he’s calling “reciprocal” tariffs on lumber and dairy imports from Canada as soon as later in the day or early next week.

Trump said the tax on these products would match Canada’s tariff rates in a possible escalation of a trade war that Trump started by imposing 25% tariffs on imports from Canada.

“They’ll be met with the exact same tariff unless they drop it, and that’s what reciprocal means,” Trump said. “And we may do it as early as today, or we’ll wait till Monday or Tuesday, but that’s what we’re going to do.”

VMI’s first Black superintendent says his ouster is based on politics, not job performance

In his first statement since the board at the Virginia Military Institute voted against renewing his contract, retired Army Maj. Gen. Cedric T. Wins said the decision was “a partisan choice that abandons the values of honor, integrity, and excellence upon which VMI was built.”

“Unfortunately, the winds of resistance by the few have drowned out those who desire to bring the institute into the 21st Century,” wrote Wins, a 1985 graduate of the 189-year-old public college in the Shenandoah Valley that educated Gens. George Patton and George Marshall.

Schools and colleges across the U.S. have been rolling back diversity programs after President Trump threatened to pull federal funding.

▶ Read more about Wins’ ouster from VMI

EPA transactions over $50,000 will require DOGE approval

The guidance, issued this week, escalates the role that Elon Musk’s efficiency group, known as DOGE, will play at the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Any assistance agreement, contract or interagency agreement transaction (valued at) $50,000 or greater must receive approval from an EPA DOGE team member,″ the EPA guidance says, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

To facilitate the DOGE team review, EPA staff members have been directed to submit a daily one-page explanation of each funding action between 3 and 6 p.m. Eastern time. Other relevant forms also must be completed.

Read more about EPA’s new DOGE guidance

Trump says ‘something’s going to happen’ with the U.S. and Iran ‘very, very soon’

Trump spoke to reporters after sending a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, seeking a new deal to restrain Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

“Hopefully we can have a peace deal,” said Trump, who previously suggested the other option might involve the U.S. getting involved militarily in Iran.

“I’m not speaking out of strength or weakness. I’m just saying I’d rather see a peace deal than the other. But the other will solve the problem,” Trump said.

States sue Trump administration over mass firings of probationary federal workers

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is leading a coalition of attorneys general in a federal lawsuit filed late Thursday. They want the firings to stop and the workers to get their jobs back.

It says the mass firings of probationary employees is illegal, and will cause irreparable burdens and expenses on the states, which will lose tax revenue even as they support the workers’ rights to unemployment assistance.

Thousands of federal employees have been fired in Trump’s dramatic downsizing of the federal government. The lawsuit says the administration’s blanket claims of unsatisfactory performance are false, and that laws and regulations governing large-scale reductions in force must be followed.

US agency tells AP it halted Ukrainian access to sharing of unclassified satellite images

The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency cited “the Administration’s directive on support to Ukraine,” without elaborating.

The satellite imagery provider Maxar Technologies confirmed the U.S. decision to “temporarily suspend” the program. The loss of access was first reported by a Ukrainian website associated with its military, Militarnyi.

Western air-defense systems are crucial for Ukraine’s defense against Russia. Ukraine has used Maxar’s images to plan attacks, see the results of their strikes and monitor the movement of Russian forces.

U.S. help is now uncertain under President Donald Trump, who held a tempestuous televised — White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

▶ Read more on Trump and the Russia-Ukraine war

Here’s the latest:

Trump order will take aim at public service loan forgiveness

Trump is planning to sign an executive order taking aim at a program that forgives student loans for people in public service careers.

White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf said the order aims to ensure people working for nonprofit organizations engaged in “improper activities,” such as illegal immigration, can’t have their loans forgiven.

It appears to be an attempt to target organizations working on causes Trump opposes.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program allows people working for government or nonprofits to apply for the remainder of their loan to be wiped out after making 10 years of payments. It was created by Congress, so it’s unclear whether the Trump administration has authority to modify it.

Defense Department suspends credit cards for its civilian workers

A new Pentagon memo also says the cards now have a $1 limit.

Exemptions include travel “in direct support of military operations or a permanent change of station,” and the memo says senior leaders can issue additional guidance on what that covers.

The memo says any non-exempt worker now traveling must return “as soon as feasible.” Civilian employees also must cancel all future official travel reservations for anything that does not meet the exemption rules.

The credit card freeze is meant to comply with Trump’s DOGE mandate to cut costs as described in an executive order last week.

The State Department issued a broad exception to the order, and has not implemented the freeze.

Trump calls bipartisan microchip act a ‘waste of money’

The 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, a centerpiece of Biden administration policy that cleared Congress with support from Republicans, was meant to make U.S. manufacturing more competitive with China and overseas producers.

Trump has since hailed foreign investment in U.S. chip production that began under Biden. But he insisted the legislation itself should be repealed “because it’s hundreds of billions of dollars and it’s just a waste of money.”

Trump says labor market will be fine despite layoffs and tariffs

Trump talked up Friday’s jobs report that showed employers created 151,000 jobs last month, downplaying the possibility that tariffs or mass layoffs of federal workers would harm the economy.

“We’re here for just a little over four weeks and these are fantastic numbers,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.

Trump said his policies will create “a little bit of a disturbance” but will ultimately be beneficial.

“I think the labor market’s going to be fantastic but it’s going to have high paying manufacturing jobs,” Trump said.

US says time is short for Syria to get rid of any remaining chemical weapons

The Trump administration is welcoming initial positive steps by the interim Syrian authorities and the global chemical weapons watchdog to address all remaining issues about ousted president Bashar Assad’s chemical weapons program.

U.S. deputy ambassador Dorothy Shea told the U.N. Security Council Friday that there is “a historic opportunity” to secure, declare and destroy any remaining chemical weapons under international verification.

Compliance is imperative, she said, “to ensure that any remaining elements do not end up in the wrong hands.”

Syria’s new rulers say they’re committed to destroying any remnants of Assad’s chemical weapons program, but Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani called for international help to bring justice to victims of Syrian chemical attacks.

Trump’s interior and energy secretaries cheer natural gas exports

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright held a pep rally for expansion plans at a massive liquefied natural gas facility in Louisiana.

Venture Global estimated that its $18 billion LNG expansion would enable exports of up to 20 million tons a year to Asia and Europe and generate 8.5 million tons of planet-warming emissions.

There’s strong local opposition. Watchdogs say Venture Global violated its permits thousands of times by flaring gas and releasing chemicals. Former Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warned that “unfettered exports” could drive up gas prices for U.S. consumers.

But Burgum told reporters Thursday: “We can absolutely do both — we can sell energy to our friends and allies, we can lower the cost at home.”

▶ Read more about Trump’s energy policy

Why should America worry about Trump? Try the price of eggs, say some Democrats

As their party struggles to navigate the early days of Donald Trump’s second presidency, some Democrats are convinced their road to recovery lies in blaming Trump for the price of eggs.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture expects egg prices to rise 41% this year over last year’s average of $3.17 per dozen.

Democratic officials shared new internal data showing voters are most worried about inflation and the cost of living. Democracy itself, by contrast, ranked No. 12. The party establishment’s focus on blaming Trump for inflation is a break with activists trying to mobilize against what they see as an existential threat — that Trump is a budding dictator has no regard for the Constitution.

Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin, who helped coordinate nationwide protests that put House Republicans on defense, said “bored, tired talking points” won’t stop authoritarianism: “It’s 2025 — this isn’t how politics works anymore.”

▶ Read more about the Democratic Party’s messaging

Homeland Security ends collective bargaining agreement with TSA staffers

In a major attack on worker rights, the Department of Homeland Security says it’s ending the collective bargaining agreement with the tens of thousands of frontline employees at the Transportation Security Administration who are responsible for keeping weapons and explosives off airplanes and protecting air travel.

The department’s announcement Friday says poor performers were being allowed to stay on the job, and that the contract was hindering the ability of the organization “to safeguard our transportation systems and keep Americans safe.”

▶ Read more on developments with the TSA and its union

White House economist praises job numbers, noting that mass firings aren’t yet counted

The director of the White House National Economic Council is cheering Friday’s report: U.S. employers added solid 151,000 jobs last month.

Kevin Hassett said that’s “really, really impressive” while noting that the mass federal firings Trump has championed likely won’t be reflected in jobs figures until next month or later.

Hassett acknowledged that the Biden administration had “some strong jobs numbers” too, but asserted that they were based on government employment, while Trump has promoted manufacturing and the private sector.

The report came in below the 160,000 jobs economists had expected for last month. Unemployment also rose slightly, to 4.1%.

Federal judge in DC won’t block DOGE from Treasury systems

A separate court order out of New York still puts limits on what Elon Musk ’s team can do inside the Treasury Department’s systems, however.

In Washington, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly previously restricted DOGE to two employees with read-only access. She declined Friday to grant a longer-term block, however. Her decision comes in a lawsuit filed by retirees and unions who fear DOGE’s activities could expose sensitive information.

Kollar-Kotelly found that concerns about DOGE are “understandable and no doubt widely shared,” but she hasn’t yet seen evidence of serious legal harm that would justify barring the team. She invited plaintiffs to return if more immediate risks emerge.

Immigration judges quit, straining system backlogged with 3.7 million cases

A labor union says 85 immigration courts employees have accepted Trump’s financial incentives to resign.

They include 18 judges, one assistant chief immigration judge and 66 support staff in a court system that typically takes years to decide each asylum claim.

Shortly after Trump took office in January, the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review fired 20 judges without explanation, according to the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers.

“This makes no sense,” said Matt Biggs, the union president. “Immigration judges are hard to replace given their specialized knowledge and legal experience. It takes at least a year to recruit, hire, train and conduct a background check on a new judge.”

Trump raises possibility of pressuring Russia

Trump said he is “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs on Russia in hopes of forcing a settlement to the war in Ukraine.

He said in a post on Truth Social that they could remain in place “until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED.”

The post came as Trump faces criticism for increasing pressure on Ukraine to reach a deal while downplaying or even denying Russia’s responsibility for starting the war with its invasion three years ago.

“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late,” Trump added.

Thrust into unemployment, axed federal workers face relatives who celebrate their firing

Scrambling to replace their health insurance and to find new work, some laid-off federal workers are running into another unexpected unpleasantry: Relatives cheering their firing.

The country’s bitterly tribal politics are spilling into text chains, social media posts and heated conversations as Americans absorb the reality of the government’s cost-cutting measures. Expecting sympathy, some axed workers are finding family and friends who instead are steadfast in their support of what they see as a bloated government’s waste.

“I’ve been treated as a public enemy by the government and now it’s bleeding into my own family,” says 24-year-old Luke Tobin, who was fired last month from his job as a technician with the U.S. Forest Service in Idaho’s Nez Perce National Forest.

▶ Read more about the DOGE cuts’ effects on families

Trump says he’s sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader over its advancing nuclear program

Trump’s comments about the letter to Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were not immediately confirmed by the supreme leader.

Trump made the comments in an interview aired Friday by Fox Business News.

The White House confirmed Trump’s comments, saying he sent a letter to Iran’s leaders seeking to negotiate a nuclear deal. Trump made the comments in an interview that will air fully Sunday.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported on Trump’s comments, citing the broadcast. However, there was no immediate word from the office of the 85-year-old Khamenei, who has final say over all matters of state.

▶ Read more about Trump and Iran

European leaders downplay skepticism from Trump about NATO solidarity

After European leaders committed Thursday to freeing up hundreds of billions of euros for security, Trump said he was “not so sure” that the military alliance would come to the United States’ defense if the country were attacked.

Here’s a look at how some EU leaders responded:

1. “We are loyal and faithful allies,” French President Emmanuel Macron said late Thursday, expressing “respect and friendship” toward U.S. leaders and adding that France was “entitled to expect the same.”

2. Māris Riekstins, Latvia’s ambassador to NATO, stressed the military alliance remained the most important platform for addressing transatlantic security issues. He emphasized the commitment from his country — which shares a nearly 300-kilometer (186-mile) border with Russia — to defense spending.

3. In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said his country would raise defense spending to reach NATO’s target faster than previously committed. But he did not specify when the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy — and NATO laggard — would hit the 2% of GDP military spending target.

▶ Read more about how EU leaders discussed NATO

World Trade Organization chief says US concerns on tariffs need to be heard

WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said it’s important for U.S. trade partners not to panic and engage in tit-for-tat measures but to embrace dialogue in reaction to Trump’s threats in recent days to impose tariffs.

Okonjo-Iweala preferred to describe the threats and reversals as “disruptions.”

“I think we need to listen to the United States and listen to what their concerns are, and say, ‘how can we also help them deal with their concerns,’” she said, speaking during a discussion alongside former German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the WTO headquarters in Geneva.

▶ Read more about the latest comments from the WTO

Wall Street clings to early gains ahead of new US employment numbers

Wall Street is poised to open with gains Friday after another U.S. pivot on tariffs kicked off the third market sell-off in four days.

Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.3% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%. Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%.

However, the high growth, tech heavy Nasdaq tumbled 4% into correction territory this week. The S&P shed. 3.6% over the last four days and closed at its lowest point since early November on Thursday. The Dow has slid about 2.9% since Monday.

The U.S. on Friday releases February employment numbers, which will show how many workers U.S. employers hired. Economists believe hiring accelerated last month.

▶ Read more about Friday’s stock market numbers

Canada’s tariffs to remain despite Trump’s postponement

Canada’s initial retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. will remain in place despite Trump postponing 25% tariffs on many imports from Canada for a month, two senior Canadian government officials said.

Two senior Canadian governments official told the Associated Press that Canada’s first wave of response tariffs will remain. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Canada’s initial $30 billion Canadian (US$21 billion) worth of retaliatory tariffs have been applied on items like American orange juice, peanut butter, coffee, appliances, footwear, cosmetics, motorcycles and certain pulp and paper products.

▶ Read more on Canada’s tariffs

War heroes and military firsts are among 26,000 images flagged for removal in Pentagon’s DEI purge

References to a World War II Medal of Honor recipient, the Enola Gay aircraft that dropped an atomic bomb on Japan and the first women to pass Marine infantry training are among the tens of thousands of photos and online posts marked for deletion as the Defense Department works to purge diversity, equity and inclusion content, according to a database obtained by The Associated Press.

The database, which was confirmed by U.S. officials and published by AP, includes more than 26,000 images that have been flagged for removal across every military branch. But the eventual total could be much higher.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given the military until Wednesday to remove content that highlights diversity efforts in its ranks.

▶ Read more about the Pentagon’s DEI purge

Elon Musk tells Republican lawmakers he’s not to blame for federal firings

Billionaire Elon Musk is telling Republican lawmakers that he is not to blame for the firings of thousands of federal workers, including veterans, as pushes to downsize the government. Instead, he said in private talks this week that those decisions are left to the various federal agencies.

The message from one of Trump’s most influential advisers came as Republicans publicly support Musk’s work at the Department of Government Efficiency digging up waste, fraud and abuse, but are privately raising questions as personnel cuts ripple through communities across the nation.

It’s a remarkable shift of emphasis away from the chainsaw-wielding tech entrepreneur whose vast power has made him an admired, revered and deeply feared figure in the second Trump administration.

▶ Read more about the latest on Elon Musk’s influence

EU leaders commit to working together after Trump signals that Europe must defend itself

European Union leaders on Thursday committed to bolstering the continent’s defenses and to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security after Trump’s repeated warnings that he would cut them adrift to face the threat of Russia alone.

With the growing conviction that they will now have to fend for themselves, countries that have faltered on defense spending for decades held emergency talks in Brussels to explore new ways to beef up their security and ensure future protection for Ukraine.

The resulting pledge underscored a sea change in geopolitics spurred on by Trump, who has undermined 80 years of cooperation based on the understanding that the U.S. would help protect European nations following World War II.

▶ Read more about the EU summit on defense

Judge orders Trump administration to speed payment of USAID and State Dept. debts

The order, issued Thursday, impacts nearly $2 billion in debts to partners of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, giving the Trump administration a Monday deadline to repay the nonprofit groups and businesses in a lawsuit over the administration’s abrupt shutdown of foreign assistance funding.

U.S. District Judge Amir Ali described the partial payment as a “concrete” first step he wanted to see from the administration, which is fighting multiple lawsuits seeking to roll back the administration’s dismantling of USAID and a six-week freeze on USAID funding.

The ruling came a day after a divided Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s bid to freeze funding that flowed through USAID. The high court instructed Ali to clarify what the government must do to comply with his earlier order requiring the quick release of funds for work that had already been done.

Ali’s line of questioning in a four-hour hearing Thursday suggested skepticism of the Trump administration’s argument that presidents have wide authority to override congressional decisions on spending when it comes to foreign policy.

▶ Read more about the court hearing over State Department debts

Trump delayed some tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but says ‘reciprocal’ tariffs will start April 2

President Donald Trump on Thursday postponed 25% tariffs on many imports from Mexico and some imports from Canada for a month amid widespread fears of the economic fallout from a broader trade war.

The White House insists its tariffs are about stopping the smuggling of fentanyl, but the taxes proposed by Trump have caused a gaping wound in the decades-old North American trade partnership. Trump’s tariff plans have also caused the stock market to sink and alarmed U.S. consumers.

In addition to his claims about fentanyl, Trump has insisted that the tariffs could be resolved by fixing the trade deficit. He emphasized while speaking in the Oval Office that he still plans to impose “reciprocal” tariffs starting on April 2.

“Most of the tariffs go on April the second,” Trump said before signing the orders. “Right now, we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although it’s a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada.”

▶ Read more about the latest on tariffs

The Associated Press