Roughly 75,000 federal workers across government have accepted a buyout offer, taking an unusual deal spearheaded by the Trump administration as it looks to reduce the federal workforce. A senior administration official confirmed the figure in the hours after a court rejected a bid by unions to quash the program. The court ruling allowed the government... ... Read full Story
A federal judge late Wednesday agreed to a temporary restraining order blocking President Trump from firing the head of the Office of the Special Counsel, keeping a key protector of whistleblowers in place. The order from Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, keeps Hampton Dellinger in his job after Trump fired him on Friday.... ... Read full Story
A man wanted for touching a 7-year-old girl in Texas was previously investigated for several sexual assaults of young girls, police said. ... Read full Story
A man wanted for touching a 7-year-old girl in Texas was previously investigated for several sexual assaults of young girls, police said. ... Read full Story
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Wednesday he thinks all Americans should be concerned that tech billionaire Elon Musk is acting “in a sense, illegally, unconstitutionally.” In a brief interview with NewsNation, Sanders identified “the growth of oligarchy” and “the move toward authoritarianism” as his primary concerns, amid ongoing efforts by President Trump and Musk... ... Read full Story
Former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday warned of “big, lingering concerns" with President Trump’s tariff plan. "In recent weeks, the president sought to impose sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, as well as key imports, such as steel and aluminum," McConnell said in an opinion piece for The Courier Journal. “While... ... Read full Story
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released a 20-second video showing the inside of the city's "gift room" in an attempt at transparency. He was accused of improperly accepting gifts. ... Read full Story
President Trump’s election ascension to chair of the Kennedy Center on Wednesday led to multiple departures from the Washington, D.C., institution. Trump, last week, announced he was replacing several members of the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees and would name himself chair. On Wednesday, the new board elected Trump as chairman of the board. At... ... Read full Story
A coalition of unions representing federal employees sued Wednesday over President Trump’s executive order that lays the groundwork for mass layoffs across the government. Trump signed the order in the Oval Office on Tuesday alongside Elon Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has looked to dismantle large aspects of the federal bureaucracy at a... ... Read full Story
President Trump called the Department of Education a "con job" and called for it to close immediately after learning the U.S. ranks 40th in education and first in cost per pupil. ... Read full Story
Education secretary nominee Linda McMahon is the next Cabinet pick of President Trump's to face a showdown with lawmakers — and the first he has told to "put yourself out of a job." McMahon, whose confirmation hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. EST, will be questioned by senators just a week after Trump... ... Read full Story
President Trump may be only the second most controversial person in his own administration. Three weeks into Trump’s second term, Elon Musk has taken center stage — as big of a villain for liberals and Trump critics as he is a hero for MAGA conservatives. The divide was evident at Wednesday’s first hearing of the... ... Read full Story
A federal judge in Massachusetts restored President Donald Trump's deferred resignation program in a decision Wednesday night after the OPM offered buyouts to 2 million workers. ... Read full Story
A federal judge declined to further pause a federal government buyout program, enabling the government to forge ahead with its "Fork in the Road" program. U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole had extended the time frame for federal employees to decide whether to take the unusual offer, which gives employees eight months of pay and... ... Read full Story
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Trump administration Wednesday to gain access to migrants being housed at a facility in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. “By hurrying immigrants off to a remote island cut off from lawyers, family, and the rest of the world, the Trump administration is sending its clearest signal yet that the... ... Read full Story
Senate Democrats asked for a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing over the recent inspectors general firings by President Trump, in a letter Wednesday. “President Trump's sudden removal of 18 Inspectors General on January 25, 2025 and removal of the Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development on February 11, 2025, was... ... Read full Story
As snow falls on D.C., House Republicans push forward on President Donald Trump's agenda with multiple bills and visits to the Capitol. ... Read full Story
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced charges against New York state and officials within the government for allegedly failing to comply with federal law. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 13, 2025 is:
gallant \GAL-unt\ adjective
Someone or something described as gallant is very courageous and brave. Gallant is also sometimes used to mean “large and impressive” (as in “a gallant ship”), or to describe someone who has or shows politeness and respect for women.
// Though they failed to reach the summit, the mountaineering team made a gallant attempt.
“He turned to go, and was promptly whacked across the backside by Miss Chokfi. ‘Ouch?’ he said. ‘What was that for?’ She was standing up very straight and gallant, though it still left her a foot and a half shorter than him, with the office stapler ready by her hand. ‘That was for not stopping him,’ she said. ‘Was there anything else you need?’ ‘Not a thing,’ said Barrow, and tipped his hat to her.” — Francis Spufford, Cahokia Jazz: A Novel, 2024
Did you know?
If you’re familiar with the long-running comic strip “Goofus and Gallant,” created by Garry Cleveland Myers and published in the monthly children’s magazine Highlights, you likely have a particularly good sense of the meaning of the adjective gallant. In the comic, the character of Goofus demonstrates to young readers all sorts of bad habits and behaviors, while Gallant provides examples of proper conduct and comportment when in circumstances similar to those of his ill-mannered counterpart. The characters’ names were, of course, chosen with purpose. We record several different senses of gallant and all are compliments. Someone described as gallant may be smartly dressed, courteous and chivalrous, or valiant and brave. Goofus, bless his heart, is none of these things (while we do not define the adjective goofus, the Oxford English Dictionary does: “stupid, foolish”). Perhaps ironically, gallant comes from the Middle French verb galer, meaning “to squander in pleasures”; such squandering is something Goofus is likely to do, and Gallant never would.