Trump's spending cuts target probationary workers. What does the status mean?

The Theodore Roosevelt Building, location of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is pictured on Feb. 13, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

As the Trump administration carries out mass firings of the federal workforce in a push to slash government spending, its targeting probationary workers. Here's what to know about the employee status.

(Image credit: Mark Schiefelbein)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 12:00 PM

Courts block Trump's DOGE actions — chaos, panic not proving to be best legal strategy

President Donald Trump signs an executive order withholding federal funding from schools and universities that impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate in the Oval Office on Feb. 14, 2025. Many of Trump

Some legal scholars say that the administration is bungling the chance to expand presidential power.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 11:00 AM

After Watergate, Congress curbed the presidency. Now, Trump is testing those limits

In this Nov. 17, 1973 file photo, President Richard Nixon speaks near Orlando, Fla. to the Associated Press Managing Editors annual meeting. Nixon told the APME "I am not a crook."

President Trump's efforts to cut federal programs and fire watchdogs are drawing attention to 1970s-era government reforms.

(Image credit: File)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 10:01 AM

Are immigrants still welcome in Mayor Eric Adams' New York City? We asked New Yorkers.

Manhattan skyline view from the 7 subway line in Jackson Height, New York City, on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025.

New York City's mayor has embraced a more conservative, less immigrant friendly stance. What does that mean for a city that's built it's identity on immigration?

(Image credit: Marco Postigo Storel)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 10:00 AM

Trump officials signal potential changes at NOAA, the weather and climate agency

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration includes the National Hurricane Center, which researches hurricanes and provides weather updates and forecasts for the dangerous storms. Employees at the agency are worried the Trump administration will cut support for their work.

Federal workers at the home agency for the National Weather Service are concerned about a potential overhaul by Trump officials focused on cutting government costs.

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 8:27 AM

Hamas releases three Israeli hostages, the sixth group freed under a ceasefire deal

Hamas militants escort Israeli-American hotsage Sagui Dekel-Chen on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on February 15, 2025, as part of the sixth hostage-prisoner exchange.

In a ceremony surrounded by masked Palestinian militants and rubble from the Gaza war, Hamas released three Israeli hostages holding U.S., Russian and Argentinian citizenships on Saturday.

(Image credit: Bashar Taleb)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 3:41 AM

A Valentine's Day aurora may be visible in the skies of the northern U.S.

The aurora borealis, commonly called the northern lights, illuminate the sky over a horse pasture in Mercer, Maine on May 10, 2024.

During Valentine's Day weekend, northern parts of America, including Maine, may have a chance of seeing an aurora. But space weather scientists warn that the chances of this happening are slim.

(Image credit: Michael Seamans)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 1:20 AM

Federal judge blocks CFPB from laying off more employees

A view of the CFPB headquarters building in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 10, 2025. A judge blocked the agency from laying off more employees after it had terminated more than 100 workers this week.

The ruling from a federal court in Washington, D.C., is a reprieve for CFPB staff who had been bracing for mass layoffs as early as Friday.

(Image credit: Saul Loeb)

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 1:05 AM

Trump firings cause chaos at agency responsible for America's nuclear weapons

Members of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team training for a radiological contamination scenario.

The National Nuclear Security Administration is a semi-autonomous agency within the Department of Energy that oversees the U.S. stockpile of thousands of nuclear weapons. Officials were given hours to fire hundreds of employees.

NPR NewsFeb 15, 2025, 12:57 AM

HUD employees are bracing for what they hear will be 'drastic' staff cuts

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development so far has not publicly announced any plan for broad cuts, and the timing for any reductions is not clear.

As federal layoffs mount, sources say the Trump administration plans a 50% staffing cut at the federal housing agency. The moves come amid an affordable housing shortage and record high homelessness.

(Image credit: Alastair Pike)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 11:10 PM

A judge orders a temporary thaw to Trump's foreign aid freeze. What will that mean?

A man reads a poster in the office of The AIDS Support Organization in Kampala, Uganda. Half the group

He wrote that there was no explanation "why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid" is needed to review programs. But how funds will start flowing again is unclear.

(Image credit: Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 10:39 PM

Fallout from Eric Adams case continues at the Justice Department

The Department of Justice is in turmoil after career prosecutors resigned rather than drop the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

An order to dismiss the corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams has sent the Justice Department into a crisis. Several top prosecutors resigned rather than obey orders to dismiss the case.

(Image credit: Tierney L. Cross)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 10:28 PM

Access to Ukraine's rare earths may help keep U.S. aid flowing

Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet on the sidelines of the 61st Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday.

As the Trump administration publicly hammers out its plans on the Ukraine war, it's also pressing Ukraine for deals in exchange for more aid — including giving the U.S. mining rights for rare earths.

(Image credit: TOBIAS SCHWARZ)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 9:51 PM

Layoffs accelerate at federal agencies with more cuts to come

The U.S. Department of Agriculture building in a 2019 file photo. Workers around the sprawling federal agency were told Friday that their jobs had been eliminated as part of sweeping layoffs from the new Trump Administration.

Federal agencies continued to lay off workers Friday. The cuts come after President Trump signed an executive order this week directing agencies to prepare for "large-scale" reductions in force.

(Image credit: Alastair Pike)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 9:36 PM

The Iconic Singer of the Syrian Revolution

undefined

Syria is reinventing itself following a 14-year bloody civil war and the rapid crumbling of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad regime in December. As NPR's Emily Feng travelled the country reporting on the new Syria, she kept seeing one man's face on flags, posters and vehicles everywhere she went. So, she decided to find out more about him.

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 9:31 PM

Former Kennedy Center president speaks out in first interview since her firing

Deborah Rutter, former president of the Kennedy Center, gives her first interview since the center

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks to Deborah Rutter, former head of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in her first interview since the board installed President Trump as its new chair.

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 9:30 PM

Altimeter in Black Hawk helicopter may have malfunctioned before DCA mid-air collision

An American Eagle and American Airlines plane taxi on the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on February 6, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board says a mid-air collision between an American Airlines flight and U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on January 29 may have been the result of a malfunctioning altimeter on the helicopter.

The National Transportation Safety Board says altimeter in the Black Hawk helicopter may have malfunctioned before the DCA mid-air collision with an American Airlines jet. All 67 people aboard died.

(Image credit: Al Drago)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 7:37 PM

At 74, Wisdom the albatross is welcoming new motherhood once again

Wisdom, the legendary Laysan albatross or mōlī, stands at right with red leg tag next to her new partner as they admire their recently laid egg at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 27, 2024.

The Laysan Albatross was first banded (or marked) in Hawaii in 1956. Meaning, she could be even older than the current estimate of 74.

(Image credit: Dan Rapp)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 7:34 PM

Will the Eagles visit the White House after Super Bowl win? They didn't last time

The Philadelphia Eagles celebrate with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after beating the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 to win Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

The Eagles pulled out a win over the Kansas City Chiefs this week, but they might opt out of making the traditional visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

(Image credit: Chris Graythen)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 7:32 PM

President Trump is testing the limits of 'emergency' powers — again

President Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House on Jan. 20. Trump has used executive orders to establish multiple national emergencies, which give him access to expanded powers.

President Trump has declared multiple national emergencies since taking office. That's helping him act quickly. There are few checks and balances on the emergency powers he's claiming.

(Image credit: JIM WATSON)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 6:59 PM

'Moss Appreciation Week': a lot of celebration for a very little plant

One of the activities at Moss Appreciation Week is a build-your-own-terrarium workshop.

Moss Appreciation Week is packed with events both scientific... and also silly. Moss walks, moss talks, moss movies, crafting moss-themed Valentines, and a "gastropod derby" with snails and slugs (for whom moss is a nice moist microclimate).

(Image credit: Nina Johnson)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 6:27 PM

Layoffs start at CDC, targeting probationary staff

Layoffs started Friday at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As many as 1,300 probationary employees at CDC are being let go, at the direction of the Trump administration. The cuts represent around 10% of the agency's workforce.

(Image credit: David Goldman)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 5:52 PM

Park Service erases 'transgender' on Stonewall website, uses the term 'LGB' movement

A National Park Service ranger places rainbow flags on the fence at the Stonewall National Monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City, on June 19, 2019.

The website deleted all mentions of "transgender" and "queer" in its history of the Stonewall riots, and only referred to the riots' impact on lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

(Image credit: Timothy A. Clary)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 5:24 PM

ICE officers granted access to unaccompanied minors database

Unaccompanied minors walk towards U.S. Border Patrol vehicles after crossing over from Mexico on May 09, 2023, in El Paso, Texas.

Trump administration officials say the move was necessary "to build a culture of child safety and accountability." But advocates say they fear the administration will use it for immigration enforcement.

(Image credit: John Moore)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 4:59 PM

Did a whale swallow a kayaker? The truth behind the viral video

A screenshot of a video from the Associated Press shows Adrián Simancas kayaking in the Strait of Magellan, moments before a whale surfaced and briefly engulfed him.

A humpback whale briefly engulfed a kayaker off the coast of Chile in an incident caught on camera. Experts say it couldn't have swallowed him even if it wanted to.

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 4:31 PM

Elon Musk's team is expected to target the Pentagon soon, pledging cost cuts

The Pentagon is pictured in December 2024 in Washington, D.C.

The DOGE team is aiming to cut 8% from next year's defense budget, officials tell NPR.

(Image credit: Daniel Slim)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 4:23 PM

Jordan's military is test-running an air bridge for aid to Gaza

The Royal Jordanian Air Force

NPR traveled with Jordan's military on a recent helicopter flight delivering aid to the Gaza Strip, part of a test program since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect last month.

(Image credit: Diego Ibarra Sánchez for NPR)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 2:13 PM

The next Israeli hostages Hamas will release include U.S. and Russian nationals

Hamas says it will release three hostages on Saturday, resolving a dispute with Israel that threatened to derail the ceasefire. In exchange, Israel will free dozens of Palestinians from jail.

(Image credit: AFP via Getty Images)

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 2:09 PM

The revolution will be screenshot (hopefully)

undefined

Code Switch's B.A. Parker takes a look at the many ways our digital world is being erased.

NPR NewsFeb 14, 2025, 12:00 PM

Eating yogurt regularly may reduce the risk of colon cancer, a study finds

The bacteria in yogurt appear to promote an overall healthy balance of bacteria in the gut, which promotes a strong and healthy gut barrier.

Humans have been eating yogurt for millennia. Ancient texts reference its health-promoting properties. Now a new study finds yogurt may reduce the risk of certain types of colon cancer.

(Image credit: d3sign)