Judge orders Trump administration to pay bills to foreign aid contractors

Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to comply with a temporary order preventing it from pausing foreign assistance funding issued earlier this month, and gave the State Department until Wednesday night to pay all bills for work completed before Feb. 13. U.S. District Judge Amir Ali granted a motion to

Could Ukraine’s mineral wealth buy it U.S. protection from Russia?

Exactly three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion and under pressure from President Trump, a senior Ukrainian official said negotiations over a deal that would give Washington access to Ukraine’s vast mineral reserves were “in the final stages.”  Ukraine’s leaders have voiced hope that such an agreement might serve as the foundation of a

Election systems feared vulnerable as government cuts workers tasked with security

Over the last month, the U.S. government has worked quickly to pause, disband and dismantle the U.S. effort to fight foreign meddling in elections, raising concern among federal lawmakers and election officials across the country who rely on the federal cybersecurity agency and its counterparts to warn them about attacks on election systems.  First came

Musk gives federal workers “another chance”‘ to justify their jobs

Elon Musk told federal workers Monday evening that they had “another chance” to justify their work or lose their jobs. The original deadline for them to comply passed later on Monday. Employees at multiple federal agencies had been told to disregard his initial directive. Musk, the world’s richest person, a close adviser to President Trump