Author: Jeniffar Whight

A federal judge further blocked the Trump administration from sharply cutting jobs and reorganizing the structure of many major federal agencies as part of its so-called DOGE effort under billionaire Elon Musk. The order issued late Thursday granted a preliminary injunction that pauses further reductions in force and “reorganization of the executive branch for the duration of the lawsuit.” The Trump administration on Friday morning appealed the decision to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and is expected to ask that court to block the injunction from taking effect. “Presidents may set policy priorities for the executive branch, and agency heads may implement them. This much is…

A U.S. airstrike in Yemen on Monday appears to have killed at least three dozen people in a Houthi-run compound that human rights researchers say has been used for years as a detention center and at times for military purposes, according to images of the aftermath reviewed by The Washington Post. Houthi rebels say at least 68 people were killed and dozens more were injured in what they said was a U.S. strike on a prison holding African migrants. The Post’s analysis of visuals found at least 38 people who appeared to be dead and 32 injured, numbers that are almost…

The White House is coming down on Amazon over a Tuesday report from Punchbowl News that claimed the world’s largest online retailer will start showing how much Trump’s tariffs affect the price of each product. Amazon, however, says the report was inaccurate and “never a consideration for the main Amazon site.” The Punchbowl report said Amazon planned to show the impact of tariffs “right next to the product’s total listed price,” according to a person familiar with the plans. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt erupted at Amazon over the report on Tuesday morning, calling it a “hostile and political act.” But…

Thirty years ago on April 19, 168 people were killed and hundreds more suffered injuries in the Oklahoma City bombing — still the deadliest homegrown terrorist attack in the history of the United States.  Their stories are preserved and honored by the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, which pays homage to the victims by commemorating their lives and legacies while centering its mission around educational initiatives against violence. “The memorial museum was created to remember and teach the brutality of the attack and the tenderness of the response. It’s about teaching the story of the senselessness of violence,” said Kari Watkins, the…

Elaine Wynn, who built a glamorous casino-and-resort empire with her former husband, Steve Wynn, transforming Las Vegas into a global destination, and who went on to become a powerful education advocate, arts patron and Democratic fund-raiser, died on Monday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 82. The cause was heart failure, her daughter Gillian Wynn said. By the time the Wynns arrived in Las Vegas in 1967, it had lost its Rat Pack sheen and was primed for a reset. The couple were newlyweds with a new baby, but they already knew a thing or two about the…

The White House is planning to ask Congress to claw back more than $1 billion slated for public broadcasting in the United States, according to two people briefed on the plan, a move that could ultimately eliminate almost all federal support for NPR and PBS. The plan is to request that Congress rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the taxpayer-backed company that funds public media organizations across the United States, one of the people said. If Congress agrees, that will amount to about two years of the organization’s funding, nearly all of which goes to…

Even with the 2023 strikes in Hollywood’s rearview mirror, writers are still feeling the pinch. On Friday, the Writers Guild of America released new job statistics highlighting recent declines in television-writing jobs across various levels of the hierarchy. Post-Peak TV, those at the peak of profession were the largest casualties (in numbers). Of the 1,319 fewer TV writer jobs for the 2023-24 season (vs. 2022-23; pre-strikes), 642 jobs were lost — a decline of 40 percent — at the co-executive producer or higher (up to showrunner) level. Lower-level writers (staff writer, story editor, executive story editor) were the next most affected with 378…

A penthouse of the “supertall” Manhattan building dubbed the world’s skinniest skyscraper has hit the market at $110 million. The four-story home, or “quadplex,” spans floors 80 to 83 of the 1,428-foot-tall building 111 W 57th Street and overlooks Central Park. With interiors designed by Studio Sofield, the suggested floor plans features an “entertaining suite” on the first floor and a “primary suite” on the third floor, while the proposed layout is topped off by a “crown suite” containing a bar and screening room. In total, the property features five bedrooms, six bathrooms and two terraces, as well as 360-degree views…

As the United States and China barreled headfirst into full-fledged trade war this week, one of Beijing’s most fashionable shopping districts was still bustling. People browsed a high-end perfumery, lounged outside coffee shops and waited in a wraparound line for a trendy bakery. That is just the type of scene the Chinese government wants to see as it steels for what could be a total breakdown of trade with the United States. As President Trump maintains tariffs of at least 125 percent on its goods, China has vowed not to back down. Besides hitting back with its own tariffs — 84…

The stock market staged a brief rally Tuesday on hopes that President Donald Trump would turn from raising tariffs to cutting deals, before sinking amid renewed tough talk by administration officials. The S&P 500 index closed down 1.5 percent, bringing its total loss since the mid-February start of Trump’s trade offensive to almost 20 percent, the official indication of a bear market. Stocks jumped nearly 4 percent in the first hour of trading, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that nearly 70 countries had approached the United States about negotiating over trade barriers. The next escalation of U.S. tariffs was…