Federal employee layoffs begin at Education Department as DOGE tries to shrink government
CBSN
The Education Department made department-wide cuts on Wednesday, including in its civil rights office, according to multiple sources familiar with the move, a day after President Trump said he'd like to see the department eliminated.
The terminations were primarily sent to newer probationary employees hired within the last year, sources said. Layoff letters were emailed to employees Tuesday. The letters informed employees that they could appeal their firing to the Merit Systems Protection Board if they felt they had been terminated "for partisan political reasons or because of your marital status."
The firing notifications landed as billionaire and former World Wrestling Entertainment chief executive Linda McMahon, Mr. Trump's nominee to be the secretary of education, faced questions from senators at her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday.
The social media platform X will pay President Trump $10 million to settle a lawsuit over the nearly two-year-long suspension of his account in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, a person familiar with the matter told CBS News Wednesday.
A top-ranking scientist at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Lawrence Tabak, was forced to retire this week, multiple people familiar with the move say, marking the highest-profile departure of a health official under the Trump administration so far this year.
Can a penny saved finally be truly worth it? Collectors are asking that question this week after President Trump ordered the U.S. Treasury Department to stop minting the penny.
Boston — A federal judge in Massachusetts allowed the Trump administration's offer of "deferred resignations" to federal workers who voluntarily leave government service to continue and lifted a previous court order pausing the program.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is expected to make an immigration enforcement announcement Wednesday afternoon, her first major announcement as the nation's top law enforcement official.
Supporters of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) praise it as an important anti-bribery statute that keeps corporations honest when doing business outside the U.S. By contrast, the law's detractors say it unfairly hobbles American companies, giving an advantage to foreign players.
The remains of a man who disappeared more than 20 years ago when he was on his way to his family's cabin have been found inside a submerged car in a Utah reservoir.
An AI-generated video depicting celebrities — including Scarlett Johansson, Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler — protesting Ye's antisemitic comments has gone viral online, prompting criticism from Johansson over the "misuse of AI," regardless of its message.
Washington — A group of advocates led by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Wednesday asking a federal court to quickly require the Trump administration to give the migrant detainees it is holding at Guantanamo Bay access to lawyers.
A Russian cybercriminal and crypto fraudster will be sent back to Moscow as part of a prisoner swap that on Tuesday brought American Marc Fogel home after more than three years in Russian custody.
Washington — At least one U.S. citizen who was being detained in Belarus was released Wednesday, the United States' top hostage negotiator said.
Washington — The Senate voted to advance Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, teeing up a final vote on his confirmation later this week.
Washington — President Trump said Wednesday that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and directed members of his national security team to "immediately" begin negotiations aimed at ending Russia's war with Ukraine.