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The Senate voted Monday to confirm Lori Chavez-DeRemer as U.S. labor secretary, a Cabinet position that puts her in charge of enforcing federally mandated worker rights and protections as the White House is trying to eliminate thousands of government employees. Chavez-DeRemer will oversee the Department of Labor, one of several executive departments named in lawsuits challenging the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to order layoffs and access sensitive government data. The Labor Department had nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion for fiscal year 2025. Some of its vast responsibilities include reporting the U.S. unemployment rate, regulating workplace health and safety standards, investigating minimum wage, child labor and overtime pay disputes, and applying laws on union organizing and unlawful terminations. Several prominent labor unions, including the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, endorsed Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination. The former Republican congresswoman from Oregon is the daughter of a Teamster, and during her one term in the House earned a reputation as pro-labor. The Senate voted to confirm Chavez-DeRemer 67-32, with 17 Democrats voting yes and three Republicans voting no. The Senate has now confirmed all but one of Trump’s picks for his Cabinet. Its Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions had voted 14-9 in favor of her nomination last week, with all Republicans except Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky giving Chavez-DeRemer their support. Three Democrats on the committee — Senators John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — voted with the majority. During her confirmation hearing before the committee, several Republican senators grilled Chavez-DeRemer about her decision to co-sponsor legislation that would have made it easier for workers to unionize and penalized employers who stood in the way of organizing efforts. She declined to explicitly state whether she still backed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act. Chavez-DeRemer explained she had signed on as a co-sponsor because she wanted a seat at the table to discuss important labor issues. Under further questioning, she walked back some of her support of the bill, saying that she supported state “right to work” laws, which allow employees to refuse to join a union in their workplace. The PRO Act did not come up for a vote during her time in Congress, but the legislation was reintroduced in the House and Senate last week. … “Senate confirms Lori Chavez-DeRemer as Trump’s labor secretary” →

All three major U.S. stock indexes dropped sharply in Monday morning trading, with investors worried about the uncertainty of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on key trading partners and then his refusal to rule out the possibility of a U.S. recession in the coming months.   The key Dow Jones average of 30 blue chip stocks dropped more than 1%, with the broader S&P 500 index falling 2 percentage points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq barometer off more than 3 percentage points.   The S&P 500 finished Friday with a 3.1% weekly drop, its biggest such decline in six months, and the index is down 7.4% from its all-time high set on Feb. 19.  Trump imposed new 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian exports to the U.S. last week and then days later paused the duties until April 2, leaving it uncertain what might happen then.  Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told NBC News over the weekend, “There’s going to be no recession in America,” but Trump hedged.  “I hate to predict things like that,” the U.S. leader told Fox News. “There is a period of transition, because what we’re doing is very big. We’re bringing wealth back to America. That’s a big thing.” He then added, “It takes a little time. It takes a little time.”  On Monday, the sell-off of big-tech stocks continued. The stock of electric carmaker Tesla, whose chief executive is billionaire Elon Musk, a key Trump adviser, slid more than 8%.   Other key technology stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia and Meta Platforms all dropped by more than 2%.  The U.S. economy, the world’s largest, has already given some signals of weakening, mostly through surveys showing increased pessimism from consumers, whose purchases account for 70% of the country’s economic output. A widely followed collection of real-time indicators compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta suggests the U.S. economy may already be shrinking.  Analyst David Mericle at the Goldman Sachs investment company cut his 2025 year-over-year estimate for U.S. economic growth from 2.2% to 1.7%, largely because Trump’s tariffs look like they will be bigger than he was previously forecasting. He said he sees a one-in-five chance of a recession over the next year. …

WASHINGTON — Construction crews began removing the large painting of the words “Black Lives Matter” on a street one block from the White House on Monday as Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser struggles to fend off threats of encroachment from both President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.  Bowser pointed to the change on the social platform X last week, writing: “The mural inspired millions of people and helped our city through a painful period, but now we can’t afford to be distracted by meaningless congressional interference. The devastating impacts of the federal job cuts must be our number one concern.”  The move shows Bowser’s striking shift in tone toward Trump and congressional Republicans since the president’s first term in office. Bowser, a Democrat, ordered the painting and renamed the intersection Black Lives Matter Plaza as a public act of defiance in June 2020. It came after days of chaotic protests at that location over police brutality following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.  Her approach to the protests brought her into direct conflict with Trump. The president at the time accused Bowser of losing control of her city and threatened to invoke his power to take over the Metropolitan Police Department. He didn’t follow through but declared his own multiagency lockdown that included helicopters flying at low altitudes to intimidate protesters.  In Trump’s second stint in the White House, Bowser has worked to avoid conflict and downplay any points of contention. She traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate to meet with the president after his election and has publicly emphasized their points of agreement, such as a mutual desire to return federal workers back to their offices full time.  Trump recently revived a frequent campaign talking point about wanting a federal “takeover” of the nation’s capital, describing Washington as riddled with crime, graffiti and homeless encampments. Bowser has refused to comment on reports that the White House was preparing an executive order targeting Washington; she publicly said that the greatest threat to the so-called Home Rule autonomy was “some of the people in Congress.”  Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have repeatedly threatened to interfere in city affairs in large and small ways. A measure currently before Congress, named the Bowser Act, seeks to completely revoke the Home Rule Act of 1973 that grants the capital city limited autonomy.  That would be deeply controversial, likely testing the … “Crews remove ‘Black Lives Matter’ street mural near White House” →

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Monday in a case from Colorado to decide whether state and local governments can enforce laws banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children.   The conservative-led court is taking up the case amid actions by President Donald Trump targeting transgender people, including a ban on military service and an end to federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender minors.   The justices also have heard arguments in a Tennessee case over whether state bans on treating transgender minors violate the Constitution. But they have yet to issue a decision. Colorado is among roughly half the states that prohibit the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.   The issue is whether the law violates the speech rights of counselors. Defenders of such laws argue that they regulate the conduct of professionals who are licensed by the state.  The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld the state law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta has struck down local bans in Florida. In 2023, the court had turned away a similar challenge, despite a split among federal appeals courts that had weighed state bans and come to differing decisions.   At the time, three justices, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, said they would have taken on the issue. It takes four justices to grant review. The nine-member court does not typically reveal how justices vote at this stage of a case so it’s unclear who might have provided the fourth vote.   The case will be argued in the court’s new term, which begins in October. The appeal on behalf of Kaley Chiles, a counselor in Colorado Springs, was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal organization that has appeared frequently at the court in recent years in cases involving high-profile social issues. One of those cases was a 5-4 decision in 2018 in which the justices ruled that California could not force state-licensed anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers to provide information about abortion.   Chiles’ lawyers leaned heavily on that decision in asking the court to take up her case. They wrote that Chiles doesn’t “seek to ‘cure’ clients of same-sex attractions or to ‘change’ clients’ sexual orientation.” In arguing for the court to reject the appeal, lawyers for Colorado wrote that lawmakers acted to regulate professional conduct, “based on overwhelming evidence that efforts to change a child’s … “Supreme Court will take up state bans on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children, in Colorado case” →

Bedford, Massachusetts — A military court-martial convened on Monday for Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who was sentenced in federal court to 15 years in prison for leaking highly classified military documents after the most consequential national security breach in years. Teixeira pleaded guilty last year to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act. He faces additional military charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice in the court-martial, held at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts. Military prosecutors said the court-martial is appropriate given that obeying orders is the “absolute core” of the military. Teixeira’s lawyers argued that further action would amount to prosecuting him twice for the same offense. The leaks exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia’s war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. Teixeira also admitted posting information about a U.S. adversary’s plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas. Before he was sentenced in November in U.S. District Court in Boston, Teixeira showed little emotion as he stood in court and apologized for his actions. The 22-year-old previously admitted he illegally collected some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets and shared them with other users on the social media platform Discord. “I wanted to say I’m sorry for all the harm that I brought and caused,” Teixeira said. “I understand all the responsibility and consequences fall upon my shoulders alone and accept whatever that will bring.” Afterward, Teixeira hugged one of his attorneys, looked toward his family and smiled before being led from court. His family left without commenting to reporters, but his mother and others submitted letters to the court seeking leniency. “I know Jack deeply regrets his actions and is ready to accept his punishment for his part in this situation,” his mother, Dawn Dufault, wrote. “While I understand the severity of his charges and the importance of ensuring justice, I implore you, Your Honor, to consider Jack’s true nature and his unique challenges, as I have observed over the years.” The security breach raised alarm over the country’s ability to protect its most closely guarded secrets and forced the Biden administration to scramble to try to contain the diplomatic and military fallout. The leaks also embarrassed the Pentagon, which tightened controls to safeguard classified information and disciplined members found to … “Court-martial convenes for Pentagon leaker already facing years behind bars” →

PENTAGON — A shortage of amphibious warfare ships for commanders across the globe has reached a breaking point, with defense officials warning VOA the crisis has triggered a monthslong drought in critical firepower from sea-based Marines. “I have the Marines, and I have the squadrons, and I have the battalions and the batteries … I just don’t have the amphibs,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith told VOA in an exclusive interview. While the amphibious warfare ships, known as amphibs, make up just 10% of the fleet, they are the go-to alternative to aircraft carriers when commanders need something more precise or expedient. They also are the only ships made for the Marine Corps’ rapid reaction forces, known as Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs), to get equipment and troops from sea to shore during an assault. “Amphibs are vital to us. They are an existential part of who we are as Marines,” Smith said. Military’s Swiss Army Knife Once deployed, these units of about 2,000 Marines and sailors are the military’s Swiss Army Knife, providing everything from strike power with F-35 fighter jets, to support in non-combatant evacuation operations and disaster relief, like when the 15th MEU rushed humanitarian aid to the Philippines after deadly floods and landslides last October. It takes three amphibs – one big-deck amphib and two smaller ones – to make an Amphibious Ready Group that transports the Marines, a unit often referred to as an ARG/MEU. Smith says the military needs three of these 3-ship units deployed abroad at all times –one from the East Coast, one from the West Coast, and one from Japan – a plan known as 3.0. “The INDOPACOM Commander, the EUCOM Commander, the AFRICOM commander have all called for an ARG/MEU, so 3.0 is the requirement.” However, Smith tells VOA he cannot achieve this requirement with the number of amphibs that are ready today. ‘Running ships to ground’ While the U.S. military was busy fighting two wars in the Middle East, its amphib fleet, plagued with maintenance deferments and delays, fell into disrepair, said Shelby Oakley with the Government Accountability Office. Oakley authored a GAO report in December that showed half of the 32 amphibs in the fleet are in poor material condition. “You’re running these ships to ground, not taking care of them,” she told VOA. “This is kind of equivalent to just driving your car and never changing the oil … “Exclusive: Top US Marine says ‘crisis’ with amphibious ships causing coverage gaps” →

Washington — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday the Trump administration had finished its six-week purge of programs of the six-decade-old U.S. Agency for International Development, and said he would move the 18% of aid and development programs that survived under the State Department.  Rubio made the announcement in a post on X. It marked one of his relatively few public comments on what has been a historic shift away from U.S. foreign aid and development, executed by Trump political appointees at State and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency teams.  Rubio in the post thanked DOGE and “our hardworking staff who worked very long hours to achieve this overdue and historic reform” in foreign aid.  President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 issued an executive order directing a freeze of foreign assistance funding and a review of all of the tens of billions of dollars of U.S. aid and development work abroad. Trump charged that much of foreign assistance was wasteful and advanced a liberal agenda.  Rubio’s social media post Monday said that review was now “officially ending,” with some 5,200 of USAID’s 6,200 programs eliminated.  Those programs “spent tens of billions of dollars in ways that did not serve, (and in some cases even harmed), the core national interests of the United States,” Rubio wrote.  “In consultation with Congress, we intend for the remaining 18% of programs we are keeping … to be administered more effectively under the State Department,” he said. Democratic lawmakers and others call the shutdown of congressionally-funded programs illegal, saying such a move requires Congress’ approval.  The State Department in one of multiple lawsuits it is battling over its rapid shutdown of USAID had said earlier this month it was killing more than 90% of USAID programs. Rubio gave no explanation for why his number was lower, and no details of what programs were spared or how the State Department would run them.  The dismantling of USAID that followed Trump’s order upended decades of policy that humanitarian and development aid abroad advanced U.S. national security by stabilizing regions and economies, strengthening alliances and building goodwill.  In the weeks after Trump’s order, one of his appointees and transition team members, Pete Marocco, and Musk pulled USAID staff around the world off the job through forced leaves and firings, shut down USAID payments overnight and terminated aid and development contracts by the thousands.  Contractors and staffers running … “Rubio says purge of USAID programs complete, with 83% of agency’s programs gone “ →

Police in Washington are investigating the shooting of a man Sunday by U.S. Secret Service personnel near the White House. A Secret Service spokesperson said a day before the shooting, police had shared information about “a suicidal individual” who may have been traveling to Washington from the state of Indiana. Secret Service personnel spotted the person’s car near the White House and someone matching the person’s description walking in the area. The spokesperson said the person brandished a firearm as officers approached, and that Secret Service personnel fired shots during “an armed confrontation.” Authorities have not identified the person who was taken to a local hospital after being shot. No Secret Service personnel were injured, the agency said. President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the shooting. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters     …

A single-engine airplane carrying five people crashed and burst into flames Saturday in the parking lot of a retirement community near a small airport in suburban Pennsylvania, and everyone on board survived, officials and witnesses said. The fiery crash happened around 3 p.m. just south of Lancaster Airport in Manheim Township, police Chief Duane Fisher told reporters at an evening briefing. All five victims were taken to hospitals in unknown condition. Nobody on the ground was hurt, the chief said. Brian Pipkin was driving nearby when he noticed the small plane climbing before it suddenly veered to the left. “And then it went down nose first,” he told The Associated Press. “There was an immediate fireball.” Pipkin called 911 and then drove to the crash site, where he recorded video of black smoke billowing from the plane’s mangled wreckage and multiple cars engulfed in flames in a parking lot at Brethren Village. He said the plane narrowly missed hitting a three-story building at the sprawling retirement community about 120 km west of Philadelphia. A fire truck from the airport arrived within minutes, and more first responders followed quickly. “It was so smoky and it was so hot,” Pipkin said. “They were really struggling to get the fire out.” A dozen parked cars were damaged, Fisher said. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed there were five people aboard the Beechcraft Bonanza. Air traffic control audio captured the pilot reporting that the aircraft “has an open door, we need to return for a landing.” An air traffic controller is heard clearing the plane to land, before saying, “Pull up!” Moments later, someone can be heard saying the aircraft was “down just behind the terminal in the parking lot street area.” The FAA said it will investigate. The crash comes about a month after seven people were killed when an air ambulance burst into flames after crashing onto a busy Philadelphia street. …

Panama City — After weeks of lawsuits and human rights criticism, Panama on Saturday released dozens of migrants who were held for weeks in a remote camp after being deported from the United States, telling them they have 30 days to leave the Central American nation. It thrust many like Hayatullah Omagh, a 29-year-old who fled Afghanistan in 2022 after the Taliban took control, into a legal limbo, scrambling to find a path forward. “We are refugees. We do not have money. We cannot pay for a hotel in Panama City, we do not have relatives,” Omagh told the Associated Press in an interview. “I can’t go back to Afghanistan under any circumstances … It is under the control of the Taliban, and they want to kill me. How can I go back?” Authorities have said deportees will have the option of extending their stay by 60 days if they need it, but after that many like Omagh don’t know what they will do. Omagh climbed off a bus in Panama City alongside 65 migrants from China, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Nepal and other nations after spending weeks detained in poor conditions by the Panamanian government, which has said it wants to work with the Trump administration “to send a signal of deterrence” to people hoping to migrate. Human rights groups and lawyers advocating for the migrants were waiting at the bus terminal, and scrambled to find the released migrants shelter and other resources. Dozens of other people remained in the camp. Among those getting off buses were migrants fleeing violence and repression in Pakistan and Iran, and 27-year-old Nikita Gaponov, who fled Russia due to repression for being part of the LGBTQ+ community and who said he was detained at the U.S. border but not allowed to make an asylum claim. “Once I get off the bus, I’ll be sleeping on the ground tonight,” Gaponov said. Others turned their eyes north once again, saying that even though they had already been deported, they had no other option than to continue after crossing the world to reach the U.S. The deportees, largely from Asian countries, were part of a deal stuck between the Trump administration and Panama and Costa Rica as the U.S. government attempts to speed up deportations. The administration sent hundreds of people, many families with children, to the two Central American countries as a stopover while authorities organize … “Panama releases dozens of detained deportees from US into limbo” →

Washington — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem appointed new leadership at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday as the agency struggles to meet President Donald Trump’s stated goal of massive deportation operations aimed at undocumented immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Trump’s administration deported 37,660 people during his first month in office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security data first reported by Reuters last month show, far less than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in the last full year of Joe Biden’s administration. Trump made the promise of deporting millions of people from the United States a centerpiece of his campaign. The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Caleb Vitello, was reassigned last month for failing to meet expectations, Reuters previously reported. Noem said she was promoting Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting executive associate director, to be the agency’s acting director, and Madison Sheahan, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, to serve as deputy director. “I am appointing new ICE leadership to deliver results that President Trump and the American people rightfully demand,” Noem said in a statement, adding that Lyons and Sheahan would “lead the men and women of ICE to achieve the American people’s mandate to target, arrest and deport illegal aliens.” …

West Palm Beach, Florida — Air Force fighter jets intercepted a civilian aircraft flying in the temporarily restricted airspace near Donald Trump’s Florida home Sunday, bringing the number of violations to more than 20 since the president took office on Jan. 20. North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement that Sunday’s incident, which took place as Trump finished a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf course, saw F-16s deploy flares to get the attention of the civilian pilot. Jets also conducted an intercept Saturday morning shortly after Trump arrived at the course from his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence. The airspace intrusions in the heavily congested south Florida airspace have prompted fighter jet intercepts but did not alter Trump’s schedule or impact his security, officials said. NORAD says the flares may have been visible from the ground but that they burn out quickly and don’t pose danger. Federal officials maintain a permanent flight restriction over Trump’s club that expands to a radius of 30 nautical miles when the president is in residence. Violations, and intercepts, are relatively routine, but NORAD is raising alarm over the frequency of the intrusions since Trump’s inauguration, saying it has responded to more than 20 incidents and blames civilian pilots for not following regulations requiring them to check for airspace restrictions before taking off. “Adherence to TFR [Temporary Flight Restrictions] procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” General Gregory Guillot, the commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command said in a statement. “The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMS, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR.” …