Author: Tage

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a 25% tariff on aluminum and steel tariffs that could hit Canada and Mexico, the top two exporters to the U.S., the hardest. Trump’s ongoing trade offensive also provoked chiding from the U.S.’ top competitor, China. VOA correspondent Anita Powell reports from the White House. …

President Donald Trump issued an executive order Monday declaring that it is “the policy of the United States to end the use of paper straws.” Former President Joe Biden’s administration, in an attempt to phase out federal purchases of single-use plastics, announced a plan in July 2024 to replace plastics with reusable, compostable and highly recyclable products. Trump’s order Monday stated that paper straws “are nonfunctional, use chemicals that may carry risks to human health, are more expensive to produce than plastic straws, and often force users to use multiple straws.” He also noted that paper straws are often individually wrapped in plastic, which undermines the environmental argument for their use. “It’s a ridiculous situation. We’re going back to plastic straws,” Trump said Monday as he signed the order. The Biden policy aimed to get plastic straws and other single-use plastics out of federal food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035. Trump declared President Joe Biden’s policy “DEAD!” in a social media post over the weekend. In his Monday order, he instructed agency officials to stop buying paper straws and make sure paper straws are no longer provided within agency buildings. He also directed officials to create a national strategy to end the use of paper straws within 45 days. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.  …

The Justice Department on Monday directed federal prosecutors in New York to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, according to a memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove. Bove, a political appointee of President Donald Trump, intervened in the case, saying the indictment of Adams interfered with his 2025 mayoral reelection campaign. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan, which brought the charges, declined to comment. Prosecutors have not yet indicated to the judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho in Manhattan, that they plan to drop the case, court records showed Monday evening. Adams was the subject of a five-count indictment charging him with accepting travel perks from Turkish officials and political donations from foreigners in exchange for taking actions to benefit Turkey. Adams pleaded not guilty. …

A consortium led by Elon Musk said Monday it has offered $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI, another salvo in the billionaire’s fight to block the artificial intelligence startup from transitioning to a for-profit firm. Musk’s bid is likely to ratchet up longstanding tensions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over the future of the startup at the heart of a boom in generative AI technology. Altman on Monday promptly posted on X: “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk cofounded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit, but left before the company took off. He founded the competing AI startup xAI in 2023. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of tech and social media company X, is a close ally of President Donald Trump. He spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Trump, and leads the Department of Government Efficiency, a new arm of the White House tasked with radically shrinking the federal bureaucracy. Musk recently criticized a $500 billion OpenAI-led project announced by Trump at the White House. OpenAI is now trying to transition into a for-profit from a nonprofit entity, which it says is required to secure the capital needed for developing the best AI models. Musk sued Altman and others in August last year, claiming they violated contract provisions by putting profit ahead of the public good in the push to advance AI. In November, he asked a U.S. district judge for a preliminary injunction blocking OpenAI from converting to a for-profit structure. Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman says the founders originally approached him to fund a nonprofit focused on developing AI to benefit humanity, but that it was now focused on making money. “It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was,” Musk said in a statement Monday. “We will make sure that happens.” Musk and OpenAI backer Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment. “Musk’s bid puts another wrinkle into OpenAI’s quest to remove the nonprofit’s control over its for-profit entity,” said Rose Chan Loui, executive director of the UCLA Law Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofits. “This bid sets a marker for the valuation of the nonprofit’s economic interests,” she said. “If OpenAI values the nonprofit’s interests at less than what Musk is offering, then they would … “Musk-led group makes $97.4 billion bid for control of OpenAI” →

So-called birth tourism is not only happening on the U.S. mainland. Pregnant Chinese mothers have been heading to a U.S. territory much closer to home to have their babies and obtain for them coveted U.S. citizenship. VOA Mandarin’s Yu Yao and Jiu Dao have the details from Saipan, capital of the Northern Mariana Islands. Elizabeth Lee narrates. …

A U.S. judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to fully comply with a previous order lifting its broad freeze on federal spending, after a group of 23 Democratic state attorneys general last week said that some funds remained frozen.  U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, ruled that all funding must be restored at least until he can hold a hearing on the states’ motion for a longer-term order.  The Trump administration had told states that it believed the order did not apply to certain environmental and infrastructure spending, and that some payments were delayed for “operational and administrative reasons.”  However, McConnell said his order had been “clear and unambiguous” in applying to all funding frozen in response to sweeping executive orders by President Donald Trump.  The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  The states originally sued the administration over a memorandum from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget announcing a wide-ranging freeze of federal spending. Soon after the lawsuit was filed, OMB rescinded that memo.  The states said last week that the still-frozen funds included $4.5 billion for a home electrification rebate program, at least some of $7 billion for rooftop solar panels, $5 billion supporting state, local and Native American tribal governments’ greenhouse gas reduction measures and $117.5 million for air-quality monitoring. …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the U.S. on Wednesday. President Donald Trump announced Modi’s White House visit as India’s foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, where they agreed to restore bilateral ties and resume direct flights and pilgrimages by Indian pilgrims to a holy site in Tibet.  While Modi’s government has shifted toward populist policies, China launched an aggressive public relations campaign in 2024 to improve its standing with India. Analysts view China’s diplomatic push as a response to the deepening U.S.-India partnership and Beijing’s desire to maintain regional influence, particularly given expected tensions with the Trump administration.  Click here for the full story in Mandarin.    …

The restored maximum pressure campaign on Iran will continue if it does not want a new nuclear deal, the ‌State Department said, while reiterating Washington’s commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.  “If the Iranian regime does not want a deal, the president is clear, Iran will remain under the restored maximum pressure campaign,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA Persian on Monday, referring to President Donald Trump’s willingness to discuss a new deal with Iran.  Trump wrote on Truth Social that he seeks a “Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper” in return for ensuring that the Islamic Republic “cannot have a Nuclear Weapon.”  Click here for the full story in Persian.    …

Mayville, New York — Lawyers began delivering opening statements Monday at the trial of the man charged with trying to fatally stab author Salman Rushdie in front of a lecture audience in western New York.   Rushdie, 77, is expected to testify during the trial of Hadi Matar, bringing the writer face-to-face with his knife-wielding attacker for the first time in more than two years.   Rushdie, the Booker Prize-winning author, had been about to speak about keeping writers safe from harm in August 2022 when Matar ran toward him on the stage at the Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater. Matar stabbed Rushdie more than a dozen times in the neck, stomach, chest, hand and right eye, leaving him partially blind and with permanent damage to one hand.  The Indian-born British-American author detailed the attack and his long, painful recovery in a memoir, “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” released last year. Rushdie had worried for his safety since his 1989 novel “The Satanic Verses” was denounced as blasphemous by many Muslims and led to Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa calling for his death.   Rushdie spent years in hiding, but had traveled freely over the past quarter century after Iran announced it would not enforce the decree.   The trial is taking place as the 36th anniversary of the fatwa — Feb. 14, 1989 — approaches.   Matar, 27, of Fairview, New Jersey, is charged with attempted murder and assault. He has pleaded not guilty.   A jury was selected last week. Matar was in court throughout the three-day process, taking notes and consulting with his attorneys. He calmly said, “Free Palestine” while being led in to court Monday past members of the media taking photographs and video.   Matar’s defense faced a challenging start after it was announced that his lawyer, Nathaniel Barone, was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness and would not attend the start of the trial.   Judge David Foley refused a defense request to postpone opening statements, instead instructing an associate of Barone to deliver the defense’s opening statement in his place. Once testimony is underway, the trial is expected to last a week to 10 days. Jurors will be shown video and photos from the day of the attack, which ended when onlookers rushed Matar and held him until police arrived.   The event’s moderator, Henry Reese, co-founder of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, was … “Opening statements begin in trial of man accused of trying to kill Salman Rushdie” →

Concord, New Hampshire — A third federal judge on Monday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally.   The ruling from U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante in New Hampshire comes after two similar rulings by judges in Seattle and Maryland last week. A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union contends that Trump’s order violates the Constitution and “attempts to upend one of the most fundamental American constitutional values.”   Trump’s Republican administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore are not entitled to citizenship.   The administration is appealing the Seattle judge’s block on Trump’s executive order.   At the heart of the lawsuits in the three cases is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, which held that Scott, an enslaved man, wasn’t a citizen despite having lived in a state where slavery was outlawed.   In 1898, in a case known as United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the U.S. Supreme Court found the only children who did not automatically receive U.S. citizenship upon being born on U.S. soil were children of diplomats, who have allegiance to another government; enemies present in the U.S. during hostile occupation; those born on foreign ships; and those born to members of sovereign Native American tribes.   The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli, or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas and Canada and Mexico are among them. …

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A federal court on Sunday blocked the Trump administration from sending three Venezuelan immigrants held in New Mexico to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba as part of the president’s immigration crackdown. In a legal filing earlier in the day, lawyers for the men said the detainees “fit the profile of those the administration has prioritized for detention in Guantanamo, i.e. Venezuelan men detained in the El Paso area with (false) charges of connections with the Tren de Aragua gang.” It asked a U.S. District Court in New Mexico for a temporary restraining order blocking their transfer, adding that “the mere uncertainty the government has created surrounding the availability of legal process and counsel access is sufficient to authorize the modest injunction.” During a brief hearing, Judge Kenneth J. Gonzales granted the temporary order, which was opposed by the government, said Jessica Vosburgh, an attorney for the three men. “It’s short term. This will get revisited and further fleshed out in the weeks to come,” Vosburgh told The Associated Press. A message seeking comment was left for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. The filing came as part of a lawsuit on behalf of the three men filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, and Las Americas Immigrant Advisory Center. The Tren de Aragua gang originated in a lawless prison in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua more than a decade ago and has expanded in recent years as millions of desperate Venezuelans fled President President Nicolás Maduro ‘s rule and migrated to other parts of Latin America or the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said last week that flights of detainees had landed at Guantanamo. Immigrant rights groups sent a letter Friday demanding access to people who have been sent there, saying the base should not be used as a “legal black hole.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that more than 8,000 people have been arrested in immigration enforcement actions since Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump has vowed to deport millions of the estimated 11.7 million people in the U.S. illegally. …

The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chief in this year’s Super Bowl, defeating the reigning champions by a score of 40-22. The Chiefs had been slightly favored to win the game, going into the American football showdown with hopes of winning their third consecutive National Football League title. But the Eagles held the Chiefs scoreless until late in the third quarter. By that time, the Philadelphia team already had 34 points on the board at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was named the game’s MVP. President Donald Trump attended the matchup, the first sitting U.S. president to do so. Before the game, the president issued a press release stating that “football is America’s most popular sport—for good reason—it fosters a sense of national unity, bringing families, friends, and fans together and strengthening communities.” “This annual tradition transcends our differences and personifies our shared patriotic values of family, faith, and freedom heroically defended by our military service members, law enforcement officers, and first responders,” he noted. The Super Bowl was estimated to attract more than 120 million viewers, with 30-second advertisements costing a record $8 million.  Before the kickoff, a ceremony honored those killed and wounded in a truck-ramming New Year’s Day terror attack in New Orleans on Bourbon Street, as well as first responders. …

Washington — The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down an agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal.  Russell Vought, the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget, directed the CFPB, in a Saturday night email confirmed by The Associated Press, to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama pushed to include it in the 2010 financial reform legislation that followed the 2007-2008 financial crisis.  The email also ordered the bureau to “cease all supervision and examination activity.”  Since the CFPB is a creation of Congress, it would require a separate act of Congress to formally eliminate it. But the head of the agency has discretion over what enforcement actions to take, if any.  Yet Elon Musk commented, “CFPB RIP” on social media site X on Friday. And the CFPB homepage on the Internet was down Sunday, replaced by a message reading “page not found.”  Also late Saturday, Vought said in a social media post that the CFPB would not withdraw its next round of funding from the Federal Reserve, adding that its current reserves of $711.6 million are “excessive.” Congress directed the bureau to be funded by the Fed to insulate it from political pressures.  “This spigot, long contributing to CFPB’s unaccountability, is now being turned off,” Vought said on X.  The CFPB says that it has obtained nearly $20 billion in financial relief for U.S. consumers since its founding in the form of canceled debts, compensation, and reduced loans. Last month, the bureau sued Capital One for allegedly misleading consumers about its offerings for high-interest savings accounts — and “cheating” customers out of more than $2 billion in lost interest payments as a result.  Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, an advocacy group, said, “that’s why Wall Street’s biggest banks and Trump’s billionaire allies hate the bureau: it’s an effective cop on the finance beat and has stood side-by-side with hundreds of millions of Americans — Republicans and Democrats — battling financial predators, scammers, and crooks.”  The administration’s move against the CFPB also highlights the tensions between Trump’s more populist … “Trump official orders consumer protection agency to stop work” →

U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz responded Sunday to critics of the Gaza takeover plan that U.S. President Donald Trump suggested last week. On the ground in the Middle East, the Israel-Hamas truce resulted in another successful hostage for prisoners exchange. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story. …

The Petersen family’s two-bedroom apartment in northern California is starting to feel small.  Four-year-old Jerrik’s toy monster trucks are everywhere in the 1,100-square-foot unit in Campbell, just outside of San Jose. And it’s only a matter of time before 9-month-old Carolynn starts amassing more toys, adding to the disarray, said her mother, Jenn Petersen.  The 42-year-old chiropractor had hoped she and her husband, Steve, a 39-year-old dental hygienist, would have bought a house by now. But when they can afford a bigger place, it will have to be another rental. Petersen has done the math: With mortgage rates and home prices stubbornly high, there’s no way the couple, who make about $270,000 a year and pay about $2,500 in monthly rent, can afford a home anywhere in their area.  According to October data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a San Jose family with a median income of $156,700 would need to spend 80% of their income on housing — including an $8,600 monthly mortgage payment — to own a median-priced $1.54 million home. That’s far higher than the general rule of thumb that people should pay no more than 30% of their income on a mortgage or rent.  Moving out of state is out of the question for the Petersens — they have strong family ties to the area and their income would plummet if they move to a lower cost-of-living area. “I’m not willing to give up my job and close connections with my family for a house,” Petersen said.  The issue is widespread and near historic highs nationally: As of last fall, the median homeowner in the U.S. was paying 42% of their income on homeownership costs, according to the Atlanta Fed. Four years ago, that percentage was 28% and had not previously reached 38% since late 2007, just before the housing market crash.  “The American dream, as our parents knew it, doesn’t exist anymore,” Petersen said. “The whole idea that you get a house after you graduate college, get a steady job and get married? I’ve done most of those milestones. But the homeownership part? That just doesn’t fit financially.”  Supply lags demand First-time homeowners are getting older. The same is true for an increasing number of American families.  In 2024, the median first-time homebuyer was 38 years old, a jump from age 35 the previous year, according to a recent report by the National … “High home prices and mortgage rates put American dream out of reach for many” →

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed optimism on Sunday that his country could avoid higher U.S. tariffs, saying President Donald Trump had recognized Japan’s huge investment in the U.S. and the American jobs that it creates. At his first White House summit on Friday, Ishiba told public broadcaster NHK, he explained to Trump how many Japanese automakers were creating jobs in the United States. The two did not specifically discuss auto tariffs, Ishiba said, although he said he did not know whether Japan would be subject to the reciprocal tariffs that Trump has said he plans to impose on imports. Tokyo has so far escaped the trade war Trump unleashed in his first weeks in office. He has announced tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, although he postponed the 25% duties on his North American neighbors to allow for talks. The escalating trade tensions since Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20 threaten to rupture the global economy. Ishiba said he believes Trump “recognized the fact Japan has been the world’s largest investor in the United States for five straight years and is therefore different from other countries.” “Japan is creating many U.S. jobs. I believe (Washington) won’t go straight to the idea of higher tariffs,” he said. Ishiba voiced optimism that Japan and the U.S. can avoid a tit-for-tat tariff war, stressing that tariffs should be put in place in a way that “benefits both sides.” “Any action that exploits or excludes the other side won’t last,” Ishiba said. “The question is whether there is any problem between Japan and the United States that warrants imposing higher tariffs,” he added.  Japan had the highest foreign direct investment in the United States in 2023 at $783.3 billion, followed by Canada and Germany, according to the most recent U.S. Commerce Department data. Trump pressed Ishiba to close Japan’s $68.5 billion annual trade surplus with Washington but expressed optimism this could be done quickly, given a promise by Ishiba to bring Japanese investment in the U.S. to $1 trillion. On Sunday, Ishiba identified liquefied natural gas, steel, AI and autos as areas that Japanese companies could invest in. He also touched on Trump’s promise to look at Nippon Steel investing in U.S. Steel as opposed to buying the storied American company, a planned purchase opposed by Trump and blocked by his predecessor, Joe Biden. “Investment is being … “Japan prime minister voices optimism over averting US tariffs” →

Editor’s note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. Historical precedent, legal questions swirl around Trump plan to detain migrants at Guantanamo The Trump administration’s expansion of migrant detention facilities, notably its use of the U.S. naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has reignited debate among human rights advocates and legal experts. VOA’s immigration Aline Barros reports. What is birthright citizenship? President Donald Trump is reigniting a fierce debate: Should everyone born on U.S. soil automatically become a citizen? This question strikes at the heart of American identity, history and law. Trump signed an executive order last month seeking to end the right, but two federal judges have placed injunctions on the order, pausing it indefinitely. Here’s what you need to know about birthright citizenship. Rubio visiting Costa Rica, Guatemala on trip focused on migration, security ties U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Tuesday with officials in Costa Rica and later in Guatemala as part of a tour of Latin America focused on migration, security cooperation and countering Chinese influence in the region. Rubio was in El Salvador for talks Monday with President Nayib Bukele, and he announced that Bukele had offered to accept any deportees from the United States, regardless of their nationality. Reported by VOA’s State Department Correspondent Nike Ching. California city breaks with state on shielding undocumented migrants U.S. Border Patrol agents are detaining undocumented migrants as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Many of those arrests have been in California, where one city is trying to break with the state and cooperate with federal immigration agencies. Genia Dulot reports from Huntington Beach. 10 ‘high-threat illegal aliens’ arrive at Guantanamo Bay The first undocumented migrants — described by U.S. officials as the “the worst of the worst” — are being held in jail cells at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, waiting to be sent home. The Pentagon on Wednesday confirmed 10 “high-threat illegal aliens” arrived Tuesday at the detention facility, where they are being held under the watch of officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Carla Babb, VOA’s Pentagon correspondent, and Jeff Seldin, VOA’s national security correspondent, report. Trump’s birthright citizenship order put on hold by 2nd federal judge A U.S. federal judge ordered a second temporary pause Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s executive … “VOA immigration weekly recap, Feb. 2–8” →

Crews continuing to search for debris from the deadly collision of a passenger jet and Army helicopter near Washington used a plane outfitted with lasers to scan the bottom of the Potomac River early Saturday, the National Transportation Safety Board said.  Large pieces of the jetliner and helicopter along with the remains of all 67 victims were recovered this week, and crews will spend the coming days looking for smaller debris before finishing the work in about a week.  A plane operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and equipped with laser scanning technology flew at low altitudes over the crash site. The lasers are used to penetrate the river’s surface and map the riverbed.  “All major pieces” of the two aircraft have been found, and investigators will examine them for any markings that could reveal the angle of the collision, according to an NTSB statement released Saturday afternoon.  The NTSB said information collected will be part of its ongoing investigation into the January 29 collision between the Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight over Washington. There were no survivors.  U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed the collision on what he called an obsolete computer system used by U.S. air traffic controllers and vowed to replace it.  NTSB officials told members of Congress that the helicopter’s advanced surveillance technology, which transmits aircraft location and other data to air traffic control and other aircraft, was turned off, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz said Thursday.  Investigators are also looking into the altitude of the plane and helicopter, including whether the helicopter was above its 61-meter flight ceiling. Investigators need to be able to examine the wreckage of the Black Hawk to get more precise information.  The crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since November 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.  …

A federal judge early Saturday temporarily blocked billionaire Elon Musk’s government efficiency team and Trump administration political appointees from accessing government systems used to process trillions of dollars in payments, citing a risk that sensitive information could be improperly disclosed. U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan issued the order after a coalition of Democratic attorneys general from 19 U.S. states filed a lawsuit late Friday arguing Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has no legal power to access the U.S. Department of Treasury systems. Musk, on X, called the ruling “absolutely insane!” and said without evidence that “something super shady is going to protect scammers.” “How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent?” Musk said on his social media platform and called Engelmayer “an activist posing as a judge.” The lawsuit said Musk and his team could disrupt federal funding for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives, and other programs, and that Republican President Donald Trump could use the information to further his political agenda. DOGE’s access to the system also “poses huge cybersecurity risks that put vast amounts of funding for the States and their residents in peril,” the state attorneys general said. They sought a temporary restraining order blocking DOGE’s access. The judge, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama, said the states’ claims were “particularly strong” and warranted him acting on their request for emergency relief pending a further hearing before another judge on Feb. 14. “That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking,” Engelmayer wrote. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat whose office is leading the case, welcomed the ruling, saying nobody was above the law and that Americans across the country had been horrified by the DOGE team’s unfettered access to their data. “We knew the Trump administration’s choice to give this access to unauthorized individuals was illegal, and this morning, a federal court agreed,” James said in a statement. “Now, Americans can trust that Musk — the world’s richest man — and his friends will not have free rein over their personal information while our lawsuit proceeds.” Engelmayer’s order bars access from being granted to Treasury Department payment and data … “US judge temporarily blocks Musk’s DOGE from accessing payment systems” →

WASHINGTON — Before President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress can enact much of their legislative agenda, they must deal with some unfinished business — completing work on the current budget year’s spending bills. It’s a task that by all accounts is not going well.  The current stopgap measure lasts through March 14. After that, without congressional action, there would be a partial government shutdown.  Five weeks is an eternity when it comes to resolving spending bills in Washington. But Trump’s first weeks in office have escalated tensions between the two parties as the new administration reshapes agency priorities and dismantles existing programs without congressional approval.  A look at where the talks stand:  Republicans accuse Democrats of abandoning negotiations  Republican and Democratic leaders of the two appropriations committees in Congress were holding spending bill talks in late January; aides said the two sides were committed to getting a deal done. But optimism has faded in recent days.  “Obviously, the Democrats are not in a good place right now, so they walked away from talks. But it’ll have to resume,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Republican from Louisiana, said Thursday.  House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, gave a similar assessment, contending that comments by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and some of his colleagues made it seem as though they are “trying to set up some sort of government shutdown, which I think is very unfortunate. We were negotiating in good faith and trying to get the topline number, but so far as I know, they’ve been sort of unresponsive the last two days or so. So, I hope we can get back to it.”  Representative Tom Cole, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he heard from Democratic lawmakers as recently as Thursday, so he did not believe they were walking away from talks.  “But we’re not making the progress I would hope,” said Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma.  Democrats dispute GOP leadership’s characterization  Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro, the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said “that is false” in response to the assertion that Democrats have withdrawn from negotiations.  “The Democrats have made their offer. We have not walked away from the table,” DeLauro said.  Jeffries told reporters that DeLauro “has been trying to get Republicans to respond to her for weeks.”  “I’m hopeful that Republicans are actually willing now to sit … “Spending bill talks bog down after Trump’s efforts to slash government” →

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is interested in developing the mining sector in Africa. On the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order focusing on minerals, mineral extraction, and mineral processing. “Mainly in the United States but if you read closely there are also multiple references in that executive order to international partnerships and you know, cooperating with partner nations,” said Scott Woodard, the acting deputy assistant secretary of state for energy transformation at the U.S. State Department. Woodard spoke at a recent African mining conference — also known as an indaba — in Cape Town, South Africa. Moderator Zainab Usman, director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, asked Woodard whether the U.S. understands that in addition to mineral extraction, Africans want projects that add value to the raw material in order to boost the continent’s industrialization. Woodard replied that the Trump administration is still putting together its policies. In recent years, America’s investment in the African minerals needed for cleaner energy has been driven by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In 2022, the U.S. entered into agreements with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to establish a supply chain for electric vehicle batteries, underscoring its interest in both countries’ copper, lithium and cobalt resources. The U.S. also has funded the rebuilding of the Lobito Rail Corridor, which will transport minerals from Congo, Zambia and Angola on the west coast. Speaking in the exhibition hall during the indaba, Zambia’s minister of transport and logistics, Frank Tayali, thanked the U.S. for its leadership. “We have something like a $350 billion gap in terms of infrastructure gap financing that the continent needs,” said Tayali. “Now this focus on infrastructure development is really key in helping the African economies to be able to improve so that they are able to look after their people more effectively.” China, meanwhile, is invested in rehabilitating the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority — known as TAZARA — to bolster rail and sea transport in East Africa. And in South Africa, the conference’s host country, transport and logistics problems at the state-owned Transnet railway system are being considered. “The CEO of Transnet is very open about the state of the rail network,” said Allan Seccombe, head of communications at the Minerals Council of South Africa. ” … it needs a lot of … “US declares interest in developing African mining sector” →

PENTAGON — The top U.S. homeland security official got a firsthand look at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, visiting the U.S. naval base in Cuba on Friday, posting video of what appears to be a third flight of “high-threat illegal aliens” to arrive at the facility.  Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem shared details of her visit on her official account on the X social media platform, promising, “Vicious gang members will no longer have safe haven in our country.” Noem did not share details about how many detainees were offloaded from what appeared to be a military cargo jet or about the crimes with which they are charged or of which they are suspected of having committed.   The Homeland Security Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have yet to respond to requests for details.  U.S. Southern Command, which oversees operations at Guantanamo Bay, did not comment on the number of flights but told VOA Saturday that the detention facility is now housing “over three dozen individuals.”  SOUTHCOM also said it “is prepared to support operations for holding illegal aliens as directed by the Department of Defense” and that any new arrivals “will be treated safely and humanely in accordance with international humanitarian standards.”  Immigrants’ rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, on Friday sent DHS, the State Department and the Pentagon a letter demanding information and immediate access to the individuals sent to the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay.  “The Constitution, and federal and international law prohibit the government from using Guantánamo as a legal black hole,” the groups stated. “We therefore request that the government provide our organizations access to the noncitizens detained at Guantánamo so that those individuals will have access to legal counsel, and so advocates and the public can understand the conditions under which the government is detaining them.”  Noem, in another post on X late Friday, said she was at Guantanamo Bay “checking out some of the operations we’re standing up to house the worst of the worst and illegal criminals that are in the United States of America.”                   “They won’t be there for long,” she added, while also thanking U.S. President Donald Trump for his hard work to “make America safe again.”  Noem’s visit to Guantanamo Bay came a day after the arrival of a second flight of “high-threat illegal aliens,” whom she described … “Trump administration sends third flight of detainees to Guantanamo” →

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — Groups representing some of South Africa’s white minority responded Saturday to a plan by President Donald Trump to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by saying: thanks, but no thanks. The plan was detailed in an executive order Trump signed Friday that stopped all aid and financial assistance to South Africa as punishment for what the Trump administration said were “rights violations” by the government against some of its white citizens. The Trump administration accused the South African government of allowing violent attacks on white Afrikaner farmers and introducing a land expropriation law that enables it to “seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation.” The South African government has denied there are any concerted attacks on white farmers and has said that Trump’s description of the new land law is full of misinformation and distortions. On Saturday, two of the most prominent groups representing Afrikaners said they would not be taking up Trump’s offer of resettlement in the U.S. “Our members work here, and want to stay here, and they are going to stay here,” said Dirk Hermann, chief executive of the Afrikaner trade union Solidarity, which says it represents about 2 million people. “We are committed to build a future here. We are not going anywhere.” At the same news conference, Kallie Kriel, the CEO of the Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, said: “We have to state categorically: We don’t want to move elsewhere.” Trump’s move to sanction South Africa, a key U.S. trading partner in Africa, came after he and his South African-born adviser Elon Musk accused its Black leadership of having an anti-white stance. But the portrayal of Afrikaners as a downtrodden group that needed to be saved would surprise most South Africans. “It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the U.S. for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged,” South Africa’s Foreign Ministry said. There was “a campaign of misinformation and propaganda” aimed at South Africa, the ministry said. Whites in South Africa still generally have a much better standard of living than Blacks more than 30 years after the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994. Despite being a small minority, whites still own about 70% of South Africa’s private farmland. A study in 2021 by the South Africa Human Rights Commission … “White South Africans reject Trump’s resettlement plan” →

NEW YORK — A violin made in 1714 by the legendary luthier Antonio Stradivari sold for $11.3 million at an auction in New York on Friday, short of estimates that would have made it the most expensive instrument ever sold.  Sotheby’s auction house had estimated that the “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” violin could sell for between $12 million and $18 million, with the higher end of the range potentially eclipsing the record-breaking $15.9 million someone paid for another Stradivari violin at auction more than a decade ago.  The “Joachim-Ma Stradivarius” is regarded as one of Stradivari’s best works, built during his “Golden Period” at the height of his craftsmanship and acoustic mastery, according to the auction house.  Adding to the intrigue, the violin is believed to have influenced legendary composer Johannes Brahms when he wrote the famed “Violin Concerto in D Major” and was actually played during the concerto’s 1879 premiere.  “This extraordinary violin represents the pinnacle of craftsmanship and classical music history, its unparalleled sound and storied provenance captivating collectors and musicians alike,” Mari-Claudia Jimenez, chair at Sotheby’s. “The Joachim-Ma Stradivarius garnered global attention, achieving one of the highest prices ever for a musical instrument — an acknowledgment of its rarity and historical importance.”  $2M increase in seconds Bidding at Sotheby’s began at $8 million and within seconds shot up to $10 million, as auctioneer Phyllis Kao scanned the room, looking for someone to put up $10.5 million.  “Am I selling? At $10 million,” she said, looking to potential bidders.  The room was quiet.  “Last chance, at $10 million,” she said. “I can sell, and I will, at $10 million, unless you go on.”  “Sold. $10 million,” she said, banging a gavel.  The final price includes auction house fees.  Sale funds scholarships The name of the instrument comes from two of its famous violin virtuoso owners, Joseph Joachim of Hungary and Si-Hon Ma of China. Ma’s estate gifted the violin to the New England Conservatory in Boston after his death.  The conservatory will use the proceeds to fund student scholarships.  “The sale is transformational for future students, and proceeds will establish the largest named endowed scholarship at New England Conservatory,” said Andrea Kalyn, president of New England Conservatory. “It has been an honor to have the Joachim-Ma Stradivari on campus, and we are eager to watch its legacy continue on the world stage.”  …

JUNEAU, ALASKA — The Alaska Legislature passed a resolution Friday urging President Donald Trump to reverse course and retain the name of North America’s tallest peak as Denali rather than change it to Mount McKinley. Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order calling for the name to revert to Mount McKinley, an identifier inspired by President William McKinley, who was from Ohio and never set foot in Alaska. He said he planned to “restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs. President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent.” The 19-0 vote in the state Senate came just over a week after the House passed the measure 31-8. The resolution was sponsored by Rep. Maxine Dibert, a Democrat who is Koyukon Athabascan. Members of that tribe bestowed the name Denali, or “the high one,” on the mountain in interior Alaska. “Denali is more than a mountain,” Dibert of Fairbanks said in a news release. “It’s a cornerstone of Alaska’s history, a tribute to our diverse culture and a testament to the people who have cherished this land for millennia.” The Interior Department late last month announced efforts were underway to implement Trump’s renaming order, even though state leaders haven’t seen the matter as settled. An Interior spokesperson, J. Elizabeth Peace, earlier this week said the agency did not have any further updates. According to the National Park Service, a prospector in 1896 dubbed the peak Mount McKinley for William McKinley, who was elected president that year. Although there were challenges to the McKinley name at the time it was announced, maps had already been circulated with the mountain’s name in place. The name was formally recognized by the U.S. government until it was changed in 2015 by the Obama administration to Denali. The name change reflected the traditions of Alaska Natives and the preference of many Alaskans, underscored by a push by state leaders decades earlier. The 6,190-meter mountain in Denali National Park and Preserve on clear days can be see from hundreds of kilometers away. “Denali is the name of our mountain; a name of great importance to Alaska Natives and everyone across our state,” House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, an independent from Dillingham, said in the news release. “It is clear from the bipartisan support in the legislature that Alaskans … “Alaska lawmakers ask Trump to retain Denali’s name, not change it to Mount McKinley” →

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea said on Saturday its nuclear weapons are not meant for negotiations but are intended for combat use against enemies that threaten its people and world peace, its state media reported. The statement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on Friday. The two leaders expressed their commitment to ensuring North Korea ends its nuclear weapons program. KCNA did not mention the meeting between the U.S. and Japanese leaders but instead cited reported comments by officials of NATO and the EU that reiterated demands for a complete denuclearization of North Korea. “We say this clearly again: Our nuclear weapons are not an advertisement to get anyone’s recognition and even less a bargaining chip to be exchanged for some money,” KCNA said in a statement. “Our nuclear forces are for unwavering combat use to swiftly eliminate any attempts by enemy forces that infringe on our country’s sovereignty and the safety of our people and threaten world peace,” it said. North Korea has not responded directly to overtures from Trump to resume contact with its leader Kim Jong Un and instead stressed its intention to “bolster” its nuclear forces. Trump said on Friday he “will have relations with North Korea and with Kim Jong Un,” adding he had a good rapport with Kim. The two held unprecedented summit meetings during Trump’s first presidency. On Jan. 20 when he was inaugurated for his second term, Trump said the North was a “nuclear power,” raising questions whether he would pursue arms reduction talks rather than denuclearization negotiations. “The two leaders expressed their serious concerns over and the need to address North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” a joint statement by Trump and Ishiba issued after their talks said.  …