NEW YORK — Workers across the country responded with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration‘s aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections. While much of the administration’s attention was focused on disrupting bureaucracy in Washington, the broad-based effort to slash the government workforce was impacting a far wider swath of workers. As layoff notices were sent out agency by agency, federal employees from Michigan to Florida were left reeling from being told that their services…
Author: MAK Gojar
After falling on some hard times, David found himself living in his car. To get by, he’d give plasma for money, the Chicago native said, sharing only his first name for privacy reasons. It helped him buy gas. One night last month, though, it was particularly cold. He had a blanket on with the engine running but it was still freezing, David said. Needing a place to stay, he tried his chances with DuPagePads. It was a Monday when he approached Wheaton-based nonprofit for help. By Wednesday, he had a roof over his head, he said. “A blessing,” David said.…
An Alabama woman who said she was raped by rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was 13 withdrew her civil lawsuit against both men on Friday, according to court filings. The unidentified woman in December added Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, to a lawsuit she had filed against Combs in Manhattan federal court, alleging that she was attacked by the singers in 2000 after Combs’ limo driver offered her a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party. Jay-Z, who vehemently denied the claims and tried to get extracted from the lawsuit, called the woman’s decision…
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were spotted conducting an assessment at the shuttered facility both Thursday and Friday, according to a federal prison union leader. A aerial view of the former FCI Dublin federal women’s prison, right, in Dublin, Calif., on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) DUBLIN — Signs mounted this week that President Donald Trump’s national immigration crackdown could include a migrant detention center at the defunct FCI Dublin women’s prison, where a reputed “rape club” terrorized inmates for years. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were spotted conducting an assessment at the shuttered…
Also: Poor target | Too much government | Keep independence | Wrecking ball | Lamar’s mirror. Mercury News reader letters to the editor for Feb. 16, 2025. Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. NIH funding cut could kill medical research Re: “Judge temporarily blocks Trump move to cut NIH funding” (Page A1, Feb. 11). Thankfully courts have paused, for now, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) attempt to immediately slash the amount of money given to research institutions to support research. If allowed to proceed, the loss of money to pay…
Also: Groundwater burden | Authoritarian drift | Prioritize equality | Limited hand. East Bay Times reader letters to the editor for Feb. 16, 2025. Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. Could houseboats be homelessness solution? I was walking near Horatio’s restaurant at the marina in San Leandro and saw the work being done to clear the structures in the water. I thought, “What a great place to have houseboats.” Then I thought what a great place to have houseboats for the homeless. There are dozens of berths that are basically unusable…
The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General on Friday said it was launching an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system, as Democratic lawmakers raised red flags about the access provided to Trump aide Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency team. The audit will also review the past two years of the system’s transactions as it relates to Musk’s assertion of “alleged fraudulent payments,” according to a letter from Loren J. Sciurba, Treasury’s deputy inspector general, that was obtained by The Associated Press. The audit marks part of the broader effort led by Democratic lawmakers and…
The crew of the Army helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash, and also may not have heard key instructions from air traffic controllers to move behind the plane, investigators said Friday. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy told reporters that the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggested an incomplete radio transmission may have left the crew without understanding how it should shift position just before the Jan. 29 crash, in which all 67 aboard…
An Alabama woman who said she was raped by rappers Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs when she was 13 withdrew her civil lawsuit against both men on Friday, according to court filings. The unidentified woman in December added Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, to a lawsuit she had filed against Combs in Manhattan federal court, alleging that she was attacked by the singers in 2000 after Combs’ limo driver offered her a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards after-party. The court document submitted by the woman’s attorneys announcing the voluntary dismissal did not include any reasons or…
The Justice Department asked a court Friday to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, with a top official from Washington intervening after federal prosecutors in Manhattan rebuffed his demands to drop the case and some quit in protest. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, the department’s second-in-command, and lawyers from the public integrity section and criminal division filed paperwork asking to end the case. They contend it was marred by appearances of impropriety and that letting it continue would interfere with the mayor’s reelection bid. A judge must still approve the request. The filing came hours…
Dropbox reported a user to the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, but the tip didn’t result in an arrest until about 16 months later. Leer en español In 2023, a detective reported tracking the tip to a Comcast account in Okeechobee County and talking to a woman who said she had shared the password with two men who had worked on the property’s renovation. The Okeechobee County detective reported completing a search warrant for the Dropbox account on Feb. 2, 2024. It wasn’t until Feb. 3 that another detective reported learning that there were “images and videos” showing…
Abortions are set to resume in Missouri after a judge blocked regulations that had restricted providers even after voters approved enshrining abortion rights into the state’s constitution. Friday’s ruling came after a Kansas City judge ruled last year that abortions were now legal in the state but kept certain regulations on the books while a lawsuit by abortion-rights advocates played out. That meant abortion facilities still had to be licensed by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Planned Parenthood argued that the licensing law required providers to give “medically unnecessary and invasive” pelvic exams to anyone receiving an…
Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened and was receiving drug therapy for a respiratory tract infection, the Vatican said. It was the latest setback to the 88-year-old’s pontiff’s health that forced him to cancel his agenda through Monday at least. Francis was serene, in good spirits and had read some newspapers after arriving at Rome’s Gemelli hospital after presiding over his morning audiences, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. In an evening bulletin, the Vatican said preliminary tests showed Francis had a respiratory tract infection, was running a mild fever and was in “fair” condition…
Three immigrants who won a restraining order against the federal government to avoid transfer to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba were deported this week on direct flights to Venezuela, according to court documents published Friday. The three men were deported Monday, the day after a federal judge approved a temporary order blocking a possible transfer to Guantanamo Bay. Venezuelan immigrants are being flown on a daily basis from a military base at El Paso, Texas, to Guantanamo as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Lawyers for the deported men said they were the target of false accusations…
Three men in DOGE shirts showed up to San Francisco City Hall demanding city files. The men are not believed to actually be DOGE representatives, authorities said.
The battle between New York federal prosecutors and the Justice Department continued Friday following another resignation over the order to end Eric Adams’ bribery case.
The AAMUP plan could deliver 4,600 new apartments and other investments in Central Brooklyn. But passage by City Council may involve negotiations to increase the amount—and affordability—of housing at publicly owned sites. Adi Talwar A Department of City Planning public meeting on the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan on April 16, 2023. The long-gestating Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan (AAMUP), which could deliver 4,600 new apartments, including 1,440 affordable units, plus job-creating space, street improvements, and city investments in Central Brooklyn, is moving forward, with a vote expected next month by the City Planning Commission. However, passage by the City Council may…
“Community colleges remain a vital resource for students from all backgrounds, especially in New York, where they play a critical role in building the city’s workforce ecosystem.” Michael Appleton/Oficina de Fotografía de la Alcaldía Graduation at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in 2022. CityViews are readers’ opinions, not those of City Limits. Add your voice today! Community colleges are a vital part of higher education, serving a diverse group of students with different needs and goals. Faculty and administrators work hard to create innovative teaching methods and support systems, but many external factors continue to make it difficult for…
Each Friday, City Limits rounds up the latest news on housing, land use and homelessness. Catch up on what you might have missed here. Adi Talwar Poughkeepsie, New York. State lawmakers are weighing a bill that would make it easier for towns and cities outside New York City to adopt rent regulation. Welcome to “What Happened This Week in NYC Housing?” where we compile the latest local news about housing, land use and homelessness. Know of a story we should include in next week’s roundup? Email us. ICYMI, from City Limits: A plan to rezone a swath of Central Brooklyn,…
Judge Dale E. Ho will weigh the request after the resignation of Manhattan’s U.S. attorney and her accusations of misconduct. Judge Dale E. Ho will weigh the request after the resignation of Manhattan’s U.S. attorney and her accusations of misconduct. Federal judges have almost no ability under the law to refuse a government request to drop criminal charges. The corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams of New York may be the exception. On Thursday, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Danielle R. Sassoon, resigned rather than obey an order to seek dismissal of the charges against the mayor. The directive was issued…