“The Trump administration began mass layoffs of 10,000 staffers at U.S. health agencies on Tuesday, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation, with security guards barring entry to some employees just hours after they received dismissal notices. The cuts, which affect several high-profile agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services, including the FDA, CDC and the National Institutes of Health, are part of a broad plan by President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal government and slash spending.” (04/01/25)
“Last Week Tonight host John Oliver is being sued over comments he made about a former Medicaid medical director. Dr. Brian Morley, once a medical director at AmeriHealth Caritas, is suing Oliver and his production company, alleging that the Emmy-winning comedian took his words grotesquely out of context, irreparably harming his career and reputation. At the center of the lawsuit is Oliver’s claim made in an episode broadcast in 2024 that Morley ‘thinks it’s okay if people have s*** on them for days.’ … ‘People have bowel movements every day where they don’t completely clean themselves, and we don’t fuss over [them] too much,’ Morley testified, according to the Des Moines Register.’ Audio of Morley’s testimony was played by Oliver on the show. ‘People are allowed to be dirty … You know, I would allow him to be a little dirty for a couple of days.'” (04/01/25)
“He wears his suits like armor, smiles like a pop star and boasts more than 2 million followers on TikTok. At just 29, Jordan Bardella has become the fresh-faced figurehead of France’s National Rally party and is now poised to inherit one of the most electorally successful far-right machines in Europe. But behind the image of youthful confidence lies a question increasingly whispered by allies and adversaries alike: Can Bardella, who has no experience in government, really lead? The presidential ambitions of Bardella’s mentor, Marine Le Pen, could be over after a French court convicted her of embezzling European Union funds and barred her from holding office for five years. That means Bardella finds himself the last man standing atop the largest party in the French National Assembly. But having the spotlight doesn’t mean he commands the stage. Critics call him Le Pen’s puppet. Le Pen calls him her asset.” (04/01/25)
“Two Kenyan police officers in Haiti have been seriously injured in clashes with gangs over the past week, three officers told Reuters, adding to the mission’s growing list of casualties as it comes under increasingly frequent attack. Kenya first deployed officers last June to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which currently has around 1,000 security personnel, about three-quarters of them from Kenya. The mission, aimed at restoring enough security for Haiti to hold elections by February 2026, has faced morale issues almost from the start and uncertainty about its possible expansion amid escalating gang violence. It suffered its first fatality in February, and the MSS reported another Kenyan officer missing last week. The three officers, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, said he was believed to be dead.” (04/01/25)
“Elon Musk said that an alleged scammer who reportedly ripped off 400,000 Americans by selling their Social Security numbers is facing imminent arrest. ‘I believe someone is going to be arrested tomorrow, because there’s someone who actually stole 400,000 Social Security numbers and personal information from the Social Security database,’ Musk said during a tele-town hall with Wisconsin voters Monday evening. Wisconsin is holding a high-stakes state Supreme Court election Tuesday that will determine if the state’s highest court will hold a liberal or conservative majority by filing a retiring justice’s seat. The person was ‘selling Social Security numbers and all the identification information in order for people to basically steal money from Social Security,’ he continued. Musk was responding to a phone call from a Wisconsin voter who asked if Attorney General Pam Bondi had plans to investigate and prosecute fraud surrounding Social Security.” (04/01/25)
“The Trump administration’s pace of removing immigrants from the U.S. continues to lag behind Joe Biden’s pace last year, even as detentions have jumped under President Trump, new numbers show. … In Trump’s first full six weeks in office, the administration removed 27,772 immigrants from the U.S., according to data from the ICE detention management database and collected by the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). That’s a daily average of 661 removals — an 11% decrease from the daily average of 742 under President Biden last fiscal year. From Jan. 26 to Feb. 8, the Trump administration removed an average of 693 immigrants daily, a 6.5% decline from Biden’s last days in office.” (04/01/25)
“A volcano in southwestern Iceland that has erupted repeatedly for more than a year again belched lava and smoke into the air on Tuesday, just hours after authorities evacuated the few remaining residents of a nearby fishing village. The eruption began at 9:45 a.m. local time (0945 GMT), triggering warning sirens in the town of Grindavik where webcams showed molten rock spewing toward the community. It had subsided by late afternoon, though the volcano was still active, Iceland’s Met Office said. Police and civil defense officials evacuated Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions, after an early morning earthquake swarm suggested an eruption was imminent. The community, located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, was largely evacuated in November 2023 when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for some 800 years. About 40 homes were evacuated on Tuesday, though police reported that some residents refused to leave their homes.” (04/01/25)
“Eurozone inflation fell for the second month in a row in March to 2.2 per cent, as ECB rate-setters consider whether to slow the pace of interest rate cuts. Tuesday’s figure was below February’s reading of 2.3 per cent and in line with the expectations of economists polled by Reuters. The annual inflation figure is still higher than the ECB’s medium-term target of 2 per cent. But rate-setters at the central bank believe that an increase in headline inflation since the autumn was temporary. February’s initial figure of 2.4 per cent was later revised down by 0.1 percentage points.” (04/01/25)
“Capitol Police arrested a staffer for Sen. Cory Booker who was carrying a gun Monday evening, as the New Jersey Democrat kicked off a marathon filibuster in the upper chamber. ‘Yesterday afternoon a Member of Congress led an IDed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building. Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed,’ a rep for US Capitol Police said in a statement Tuesday. ‘The staff member, 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was arrested for Carrying a Pistol Without a License. All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia.'” (04/01/25)
“New York is on the verge of becoming the next state to ban cellphone use during school hours — a victory for its Democratic governor who has been pushing to drastically limit the ‘endless disruptions from social media’ on students. Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers are hashing out the parameters of a full-day ‘bell-to-bell’ restriction — one of the most sweeping issues the governor has championed during her tenure. Legislative leaders signed onto the thorny proposal this year, and are awaiting policy language as they work past Monday’s deadline to pass the state’s $252 billion budget.” (04/01/25)
