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WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care and other services for millions of veterans, according to an internal memo obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top-level officials at the agency Tuesday that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act. The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.” It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration’s goals. Government Executive first reported on the internal memo. “Things need to change,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said in a video posted on social media Wednesday afternoon, adding that the layoffs would not mean cuts to veterans’ health care or benefits. “This administration is finally going to give the veterans what they want,” Collins said. “President Trump has a mandate for generational change in Washington and that’s exactly what we’re going to deliver at the VA.” Veterans have already been speaking out against the cuts at the VA that so far had included a few thousand employees and hundreds of contracts. More than 25% of the VA’s workforce is comprised of veterans. The plans underway at the VA showed how the Trump administration’s DOGE initiative, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is not holding back on an all-out effort to slash federal agencies, even for those that have traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement that the president “refuses to accept the VA bureaucracy and bloat that has hindered veterans’ ability to receive timely and quality care.” She added that the changes would “ensure greater efficiency and transparency” at the VA. The VA last year experienced its highest-ever service levels, reaching over 9 million enrollees and delivering more than 127.5 million health care appointments, according to the agency’s figures. However, Michael Missal, who was the VA’s inspector general for nine years … “Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 jobs at Veterans Affairs, memo says” →

The U.S. Justice Department announced indictments Wednesday against 12 Chinese nationals accused in a global hacking campaign targeting U.S.-based dissidents, news organizations, government agencies and a large religious organization.  According to court documents, China’s Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of State Security used a network of private companies and hackers-for-hire to steal information and help locate dissidents and critics throughout the world.   “Today’s announcements reveal that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has been paying hackers-for-hire to inflict digital harm on Americans who criticize the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” said Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran of the FBI’s Cyber Division in a statement.  The suspects include two officers in China’s Ministry of Public Security, eight employees of a company known as i-Soon, and two members of a group known as Advanced Persistent Threat 27 (APT27).  A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, told The Associated Press Wednesday that the allegations were a “smear” and said, “We hope that relevant parties will adopt a professional and responsible attitude and base their characterization of cyber incidents on sufficient evidence rather than groundless speculation and accusations.”  All of those indicted are at large, and the Justice Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about the MPS officers and i-Soon, the Chinese company that employed most of the hackers.   The company is accused of selling stolen information “to China’s intelligence and security services to suppress free speech and democratic processes worldwide, and target groups deemed a threat to the Chinese government,” according to a news release from the FBI.  i-Soon also conducted computer intrusions on its own initiative, charging “the MSS and MPS equivalent to between approximately $10,000 and $75,000 for each email inbox it successfully hacked,” the indictment said.   The company also provided training in hacking skills to the government agencies.  Among the group’s targets were a large religious organization critical of the Chinese government that previously sent missionaries to China, and a group that promoted human rights and religious freedom in China.  The New York Assembly and multiple news organizations in the United States were targeted, including those that have opposed the Communist Party of China or delivered uncensored news to China.  Foreign targets included a religious leader, a Hong Kong newspaper and the foreign ministries of Taiwan, India, South Korea, and Indonesia, according to the Justice Department release.  Separate indictments were issued against the … “US indicts 12 Chinese nationals in hacking-for-hire scheme” →

U.S. Vice President JD Vance led a trio of White House officials on a visit Wednesday to a key crossing point on the Texas-Mexico border, where he echoed President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration push and assured Americans that U.S. forces don’t plan to invade Mexico. His trip to the small border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, comes on the heels of Trump’s defiant Tuesday night address before Congress, where Trump described his program of arrests and deportations as “getting them out and getting them out fast.” Vance’s words also follow Trump’s move to designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. “I’m not going to make any announcements about any invasions of Mexico here today,” Vance said. “The president has a megaphone and of course, he’ll speak to these issues as he feels necessary. But what designating cartel organizations allows us to do is deploy the full resources of the United States military to engage in serious border enforcement.” Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who accompanied Vance, echoed him, saying, “Our objective is to keep the American people safe.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, also in Texas with Vance and Gabbard, emphasized that he thinks “border security is national security,” and clarified what role troops might serve, as they are legally prohibited from performing civilian law enforcement actions. “The Defense Department has assets that we can bring to bear, not just troops, not just surveillance, not just equipment, but actual planning and capabilities that enhance what Border Patrol is already doing,” he said. Immigration advocates told VOA that the current lull in border crossings, which Vance also touted, might be misleading and criticized Trump’s enforcement-based strategy. “The ebb and flow of border numbers — under Trump and under [former President Joe] Biden — demonstrate why global migration is complicated, and why we need a full immigration overhaul from Congress to equip America for 21st century migration and to align with our interests and values, not the enforcement-only agenda of this administration,” Vanessa Cardenas, executive director of America’s Voice, told VOA via email. “The reality is that the Trump administration’s immigration policies aren’t making Americans more safe or secure, and certainly aren’t advancing our economic interests or common sense. Instead, they come at a high cost for all Americans and move us further from the real solutions we need,” Cardenas said. Meanwhile, in Washington, Representative James Comer, the Republican leader of … “Vance visits Mexico border, says US won’t invade Mexico” →

U.S. President Donald Trump this week finalized his plans to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and an additional 10% on China. To see how this affects some small businesses, VOA Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti visited a whiskey business in Virginia. Kim Lewis contributed. …

A group of senior U.S. officials, led by Vice President JD Vance, arrived at the country’s southern border on Wednesday to observe surveillance operations. Meanwhile, in Washington, Democratic mayors answered questions from legislators related to immigration. Click here for the full story in Spanish.  …

WASHINGTON — An appeals court in Washington on Wednesday removed the head of a federal watchdog agency in the latest twist in a legal fight over President Donald Trump’s authority to fire the special counsel.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia sided with the Trump administration in allowing the immediate removal of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel while the court considers legal arguments in the case. Dellinger is likely to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Dellinger sued Trump last month after he was fired even though the law says special counsels can be removed by the president “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Saturday ruled that Dellinger’s firing was unlawful and quickly reinstated him in the job while he pursued his case. It was that order that the appeals court lifted Wednesday. Dellinger’s lawyers say allowing the president to fire the special counsel without cause would have a chilling effect on the important duties of the office to protect whistleblowers. The Trump administration has argued that the law protecting the special counsel from removal is unconstitutional and unfairly prevents the president from rightfully installing his preferred agency head.  The Office of Special Counsel is responsible for guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. It investigates whistleblower claims of reprisal, can pursue disciplinary action against employees who punish whistleblowers and provides a channel for employees to disclose government wrongdoing.  Wednesday’s appellate ruling came as Dellinger is also challenging the removal of probationary workers who were fired as part of the Trump administration’s shake-up of the federal government.  After a request from Dellinger’s office, a government panel that enforces workers’ rights ruled Wednesday that more than 5,000 employees fired by the Trump administration should be put back on the job at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  While the order applies only to the USDA workers, Dellinger released a statement “calling on all federal agencies to voluntarily and immediately rescind any unlawful terminations of probationary employees.” …

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday took down a directory of federal facilities it had listed for possible sale that included some of the U.S. government’s most iconic properties. The apparent change of course came one day after the U.S. General Services Administration posted a list of 443 properties it said it might sell to save on maintenance costs. On Wednesday, GSA’s “noncore property list” was blank. GSA did not explain why it took down the list. The agency said in a statement that it had received an “overwhelming amount of interest” and planned to release a new list soon. GSA’s list had included the headquarters of more than a dozen federal agencies, including the GSA’s own building. Skyscrapers in Chicago, Atlanta and Cleveland and major tax-processing centers were on the list, as was the Old Post Office, the historic building that once housed the Trump International Hotel in Washington. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the initial list outrageous and said any sale would need to be done in an orderly fashion. “You cannot dump buildings on the market without preparation or a plan, because it would be antithetical to making this the most beautiful capital city in the world,” she said at a briefing. The potential sell-off appeared to be part of Trump’s effort to slash the federal government, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. The downsizing drive has led to 100,000 workers taking buyouts or being laid off. …

WASHINGTON — Democratic U.S. Representative Sylvester Turner, a former mayor of Houston, who was sworn into office in November, died on Tuesday, fellow lawmakers said, hours after he posted about attending President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. The death of Turner, 70, temporarily widens Republicans’ slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives to 218-214. A special election for Turner’s replacement will have to be held to fill the vacancy. Turner served as mayor of Houston from 2016 through 2024 and was elected last year to take the House seat formerly held by Sheila Jackson Lee, who died in July 2024 at age 74. A spokesperson said Turner’s office would issue a statement shortly. In a video message filmed outside his Washington office and posted on Tuesday, Turner said he was bringing to Trump’s address a constituent whose daughter had a rare genetic disorder and relied on Medicaid insurance for treatment. “My message to the current administration for tonight’s State of the Union: ‘Don’t mess with Medicaid,’” Turner wrote in the post. “President Trump and Elon Musk’s push to gut Medicaid is nothing short of a betrayal of the most vulnerable among us.” Republicans are trying to pass a spending bill that could significantly slash spending on popular social programs, including the Medicaid health insurance plan for low-income people, to pay for Trump’s desired tax cut plan. Tributes to Turner poured in from Democratic politicians on social media. Representative Greg Casar of Texas told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday that Turner was “a dedicated public servant,” and Representative Terri Sewell of Alabama posted on X that Turner “leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of service.” The House has two other vacant seats, previously held by Republican Representatives Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz, both of Florida. April 1 special elections have been scheduled to fill both, and Republicans are expected to win those contests, restoring Trump’s party’s full majority to 220. …

WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on seven senior members of Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, the Treasury Department said. The men smuggled military-grade items and weapon systems into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and negotiated buying weapons from Russia, the Treasury Department said in a statement. It also designated Abdulwali Abdoh Hasan Al-Jabri and his company Al-Jabri General Trading and Investment Company for recruiting Yemenis to fight in Ukraine on behalf of Russia and raising money to support Houthi military operations. “The U.S. government is committed to holding the Houthis accountable for acquiring weapons and weapons components from suppliers in Russia, China and Iran to threaten Red Sea security,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement. On Tuesday, the State Department said it was implementing the designation of the Houthi movement as a “foreign terrorist organization” after President Donald Trump called for the move earlier this year. The move, however, triggered concerns it could affect regional security and worsen Yemen’s humanitarian crisis because importers fear being hit with U.S. sanctions if supplies fall into Houthi hands. …

ISLAMABAD  — The U.S. Justice Department plans Wednesday to present in a federal court in Virginia the alleged mastermind of the August 2021 bombing that killed 13 U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The justice department said Islamic State Khorasan operative Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as “Jafar,” was charged on March 2 with “providing and conspiring to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization resulting in death.” Sharifullah is expected to appear in the justice system’s Eastern District of Virginia, the department said in a statement on its website. President Donald Trump broke the news of Sharifullah’s capture Tuesday night in a speech to Congress on Capitol Hill. “Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity,” Trump said. “And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.” The Abbey Gate bombing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on August 26, 2021 also killed roughly 170 Afghans. Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization linked with the Islamic State terror group, claimed responsibility. The suicide attack came amid the chaotic troop withdrawal at the end of the 20-year U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. In this speech, Trump hailed Pakistan for helping with the mission to arrest Sharifullah. “And I want to thank, especially, the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster,” the U.S. president said. Sharifullah’s capture Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif identified Sharifullah as a “top tier commander” and an Afghan national in a post on X. “The wanted terrorist was apprehended in a successful operation conducted in Pakistan-Afghan border region,” Sharif said, without sharing details. The justice department said the mission was a multi-agency effort that also involved the CIA and the FBI. “Sharifullah admitted to helping prepare for the Abbey Gate attack, including scouting a route near the airport for an attacker,” the department said. Sharifullah admitted to recognizing Abdul Rahman al-Logari who detonated the suicide bomb and admitted to playing a role in other attacks in Afghanistan and Russia, the statement added. Islamabad-based security affairs analyst Iftekhar Firdaus told VOA that Sharifullah, a resident of Kabul, joined ISIS-K in 2016. “He was arrested in 2019 and then released during the jailbreak of the Afghan Taliban during their takeover of August 15, 2021,” said Firdaus, founder of The Khorasan Diary, an online platform … “US-Pakistan operation to capture ‘top terrorist’ signals deep counterterrorism cooperation despite cold ties, experts say   “ →

NEW ORLEANS — Powerful storms killed two people in Mississippi, tore the roofs off an apartment building and a nursing home in a small town in Oklahoma and threatened more communities across the nation Tuesday with wide-ranging weather. The large storm system also brought blinding dust storms to the Southwest, blizzards with whiteout conditions to the Midwest and fears of wildfires elsewhere. In Irving, Texas, a tornado with winds up to 177 kph struck, while another touched down in the 16,000-resident city of Ada, Oklahoma, according to preliminary information from the National Weather Service. There were also two tornadoes in Louisiana’s northern Caddo Parish and at least five in eastern Oklahoma. High winds forced some changes to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which moved up and shortened the two biggest parades, to wrap them up before the bad weather moved in. The weather didn’t stop Shalaska Jones and her 2-year-old daughter from waving at passing Mardi Gras floats and hoping to catch one of the coveted coconuts thrown to the crowd. “We was coming out, rain, sleet or snow,” Jones said. The alarming weather could be one of the first big tests for the National Weather Service after hundreds of forecasters were fired last week as part of President Donald Trump’s moves to slash the size of the federal government. Former employees said the firing of meteorologists who make crucial local forecasts nationwide could put lives at risk, though it was too soon to know the impact on forecasts and warnings for this storm. Deaths from storms in Mississippi Two people died due to the severe weather, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves posted on the social platform X, without going into detail. WAPT-TV reported that one person died from a falling power line in Madison County, while a driver in the same county was killed by a tree falling on his car. Hundreds of thousands left without power Storms that swept through Texas and Oklahoma brought high winds and rain, overturning tractor-trailers and damaging roofs. More than 178,000 customers were without power in Texas, about 23,000 in Louisiana, another 18,000 in Mississippi, about 88,000 in Alabama, more than 16,000 in Oklahoma and more than 23,000 in Tennessee, according to PowerOutage.us. More outages were expected as a line of storms raced across Mississippi and Louisiana and headed for Alabama, producing gusts of 113 kph, the weather service said. Central Plains and Midwest brace … “Powerful US storms kill 2 and bring threats from critical fire weather to blizzard conditions” →

President Donald Trump delivered remarks before a joint session of Congress Tuesday evening, lauding early steps taken by his administration to slash the bureaucracy, order steep tariffs on America’s closest trading partners, and pressure Ukraine to stop fighting against a Russian invasion. As Trump spoke, Democrats watched and made their protests clear. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …

U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin said Tuesday the country needs responsible changes and should be an engaged leader in an interconnected world, as she gave the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress. Slotkin said prices for things such as groceries, housing and health care need to come down and that Trump does not have a credible plan to address them. She said Trump’s economic policies are going to make Americans “pay in every part” of their lives, including tariffs and trade wars, a rising national debt and a potential recession. “President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends,” Slotkin said. She also cited multibillionaire businessman Elon Musk, who under Trump is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency, highlighting concerns about widespread layoffs of federal workers and access his team has to Americans’ data. “We need a more efficient government. You want to cut waste, I’ll help you do it. But change does not need to be chaotic or make us less safe,” Slotkin said. She also spoke about the heated White House meeting last week during which Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for being “disrespectful.” Slotkin said the meeting summed up Trump’s approach to the world. “He believes in cozying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth,” she said. “He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions.” Slotkin said American democracy has been the aspiration of the world, and that right now it is at risk. Trump is seeking to carry out an “America First” foreign policy, which has included orders to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, and to slash the work of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Slotkin said she would rather have the United States as a world leader than Russia or China. “Donald Trump’s actions suggest that in his heart he doesn’t believe that we’re an exceptional nation. He clearly doesn’t think we should lead the world,” she said. …

Washington — U.S. President Donald Trump in a Tuesday night speech to a joint session of Congress defended his new tariffs on U.S. trading partners and pledged that more are coming. “Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn,” Trump said in what was his first address to U.S. lawmakers of his second term. The remarks came after the United States imposed 25% tariffs earlier Tuesday on exports from its two biggest trading partners, Canada and Mexico, and doubled an earlier 10% tariff on Chinese imports to 20%. China is the No. 3 U.S. trading partner. U.S. stock markets have taken a significant tumble, and the three countries have threatened retaliation, prompting concerns of a broader trade war. Trump also said the United States will begin imposing “reciprocal tariffs” on all U.S. trading partners on April 2. “Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them,” he said. “Whatever they tax us, we will tax them.” “I wanted to make it April 1, but I didn’t want to be accused of April Fool’s Day,” Trump added. Trump also said he will impose a 25% tariff on imports of foreign aluminum, copper, lumber and steel. Trump’s address comes six weeks into his second term, which has been marked by tensions with U.S. allies, shifts in foreign policy and an overhaul of the federal government. The White House on Monday said the theme of the address was the “renewal of the American dream.” With Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Mike Johnson seated behind him, Trump began his speech by proclaiming that “America is back,” triggering chants of “USA” from Republican lawmakers. “Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country,” he said. Trump also said his administration has “accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years.” To date, Trump has signed nearly 80 executive orders — several of which are being challenged in court. Early in his speech, Trump touted his declaration of a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border and deployment of the U.S. military and border patrol to “repel the invasion of … “Trump declares ‘America is back,’ defends tariffs, other policies in address to Congress” →

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and postseason Tuesday night. James surpassed the mark with a 3-pointer early in the first quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans. James got to 49,999 points Sunday night when he scored 17 while the Lakers beat the Clippers 108-102 for their sixth consecutive win. The 40-year-old James already is the top scorer in NBA history in both the regular season and the playoffs during a career in which he has rewritten all previous definitions of basketball longevity. James reached 50,000 points deep into his 22nd season, which ties him with Vince Carter for the most played in NBA history. Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 20 seasons, is second in NBA history with 44,149 combined points. And while nearly every other NBA player who lasted to his late 30s finished at a fraction of his peak powers, James’ game shows no significant signs of decline in his 40s. He was named the NBA’s Western Conference player of the month earlier Tuesday after he averaged 29.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.2 steals in February while playing more than 35 minutes per game for the Lakers, who went 9-2 to surge into second place in the West. James began Tuesday at third in NBA history with 1,547 regular-season games played, trailing only Robert Parish (1,611) and Abdul-Jabbar (1,560). If he stays healthy and elects to return for a record 23rd season, he will likely surpass Parish next winter. James has also played in 287 postseason games, the most in NBA history. He became the league’s career playoff scoring leader on May 25, 2017, when he surpassed Michael Jordan’s total of 5,987 during the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Eastern Conference finals game at Boston. James then became the top scorer in regular-season history on Feb. 7, 2023, when he topped Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points during the Lakers’ game against Oklahoma City. James’ prolific scoring is due in large part to his metronomic consistency. With his performance against the Clippers, he has scored at least 10 points in 1,277 consecutive games since Jan. 6, 2007 — by far the longest such streak in NBA history. James’ player of the month award for February was his 41st, extending his own league record. He also became the oldest player … “Lakers’ James first NBA player to score 50,000 combined points in regular season, playoffs” →