After landing his dream job as a park ranger, he’s ‘heartbroken’ to be let go in federal cuts
CNN
Brian Gibbs had no clue Friday would be his last day at his dream job. The education technician park ranger at Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa reported to work, only to be terminated on despite receiving an exceptional performance evaluation in the fall.
Brian Gibbs put on his gray and green park ranger uniform Friday for his dream job teaching people about Iowa’s Effigy Mounds National Monument. The education technician walked in ready to prepare lesson plans for classroom visits to two schools. He knew of the trouble facing the federal workforce, but he had no idea that Friday would be his last day. Gibbs is now one of the thousands of federal probationary workers who were terminated Friday, a move by the Trump administration aimed at decreasing the overall federal workforce. The father and civil servant took to Facebook in a post that’s been shared more than 200,000 times to describe what happened, saying he was “absolutely heartbroken and completely devastated.” Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have upended the federal workforce, firing top officials and watchdogs, dismantling a key humanitarian agency and persuading 77,000 workers to voluntarily leave their jobs through a deferred resignation offer. Officials set their sights on probationary workers – typically those who have been employed for less than a year, or in some cases, two years – because they have fewer job protections and lack the right to appeal.
As the long-fraught relationship between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky ripped apart Wednesday, a question that lingered among allies of both men was whether the fight would dash hopes for a US-brokered peace — or, potentially, help it along.
Whitley Award-winning biologist Fernanda Abra’s Reconecta Project is building canopy bridges across highways in Brazil to protect endangered primates.
Brazilian biologist Fernanda Abra was recognized by the Whitley Fund for Nature for her pioneering work to build and monitor low-cost canopy bridges over Highway BR-174 in the Amazon rainforest, to protect tree-dwelling mammals from road vehicles.
A young girl in Texas died by suicide after being bullied about her family’s immigration’s status, according to her family.
An appeals court will not allow the Trump administration to end birthright citizenship for certain children of immigrants, in a ruling that could propel the issue to the Supreme Court.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to prepare plans to make drastic budget cuts over the next five years, with an exception for border security, according to a new memo obtained by CNN.
Senate Republicans announced Wednesday they are muscling ahead with their preferred legislative strategy to jumpstart Donald Trump’s agenda — just hours after the president himself backed a much different approach.
At least two people are dead after two small aircraft collided in midair at an Arizona airport Wednesday, authorities said.
Some defense officials responsible for drafting lists of civilian Pentagon employees to be terminated as soon as this week are raising concerns with their superiors that the summary firings could break the law and potentially harm US military readiness, a senior defense official told CNN.
Charlotte Peet, 32, last contacted a friend in Rio de Janeiro on February 8, according to a Tuesday statement from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in Brazil (ACIE).
The federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is set to hear from the attorneys Wednesday afternoon about the Justice Department’s controversial motion to dismiss the charges against him.
When Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts by a jury last May, there was one person in his courtroom entourage who wasn’t one of his lawyers, aides or family members: Steve Witkoff.
As federal workers get fired by the thousands, the news has sometimes come in unceremonious, callous ways.