Trump White House rescinds memo freezing federal money after widespread confusion
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s budget office has rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country. The White House said that Trump’s underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change, remained in place. The original Monday evening memo from the Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington. The White House has been scrambling to explain what would and wouldn’t be subject to a pause in funding.
At signing of Laken Riley Act, Trump says he plans to send migrants in US illegally to Guantanamo
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s directing the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 migrants who are living illegally in the United States. The U.S. military base has been used to house detainees from the U.S. war on terrorism. Trump made the announcement Wednesday just before he signed the Laken Riley Act into law. The immigrant detention measure is the first law of his new administration. The bipartisan measure means that people who are in the U.S. illegally and are accused of theft and violent crimes would have to be detained and potentially deported even before a conviction.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. struggles to answer questions on Medicare and Medicaid at confirmation hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has struggled to answer questions at his Senate confirmation hearing about how he’d reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans. Kennedy inaccurately claims Medicaid is fully paid for by the federal government when states and federal taxpayers fund it. Kennedy’s hearing Wednesday to be the nation’s top health official quickly devolved into an argument over the questions he’s raised for years about vaccine safety. Kennedy is seeking to lead a $1.7 trillion agency that will oversee vaccine recommendations as well as food inspections and health insurance for half the country in President Donald Trump’s administration. Kennedy denies he’s anti-vaccine.
Trump looks to repurpose federal money to expand school choice programs
WASHINGTON (AP) — Private school vouchers and other school choice initiatives would expand under an order coming from President Donald Trump telling government agencies to repurpose federal dollars. The Education Department is being told to use discretionary money to prioritize school choice programs and give states new guidance on how they can use federal money to support K-12 voucher programs. The executive order he plans to sign Wednesday could free up some pockets of federal money to be used on school choice. But the vast majority of school funding comes from state and local sources, and school choice policies are generally the purview of state governments.
Police say at least 30 people have died in a stampede at the massive Maha Kumbh festival in India
PRAYAGRAJ, India (AP) — Police say at least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India. Police said 60 others were injured Wednesday. It was a sacred day in the six-week Hindu festival, and authorities expected a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers. Hindus believe that a dip there can cleanse them of past sins and end the process of reincarnation.
Hamas will free 3 Israelis and 5 Thais in next hostage release Thursday
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas say the militant group will release three Israelis, including two women and an 80-year-old man, along with five Thai nationals in the next hostage release on Thursday. The Israeli hostages are 29-year-old Arbel Yehoud, 20-year-old Agam Berger and Gadi Moses. The names of the Thai nationals were not disclosed Wednesday. The release would keep up the momentum of the fragile ceasefire that began earlier this month and paused the 15-month war in Gaza. Meanwhile, the U.S. Mideast envoy met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads to Washington next week to meet with President Donald Trump.
Ex-New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery conviction
NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his conviction in a scheme that brought him gold bars, cash and a car and what his lawyer says is a new nickname: “gold bar Bob.” Judge Sidney H. Stein announced the sentence Wednesday after Menendez tearfully addressed the judge, saying he’d lost everything he cared about. Prosecutors sought a 15-year term for the Democrat convicted of crimes including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. Two New Jersey businessmen convicted with Menendez were sentenced earlier Wednesday to seven and eight years in prison.
Are we all aliens? NASA’s returned asteroid samples hold the ingredients of life from a watery world
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft has returned asteroid samples that hold not only the pristine building blocks for life but also the salty remains of an ancient water world. Scientists published their findings Wednesday. The pair of studies provide the strongest evidence yet that asteroids may have planted the seeds of life on Earth. The findings also indicate that these ingredients were mingling with water almost right from the start. NASA’s Osiris-Rex spacecraft returned the samples from Bennu, a near-Earth asteroid, in 2023. It’s the biggest cosmic haul from beyond the moon.
Fed hold rates steady, says job market is ‘solid’ while inflation ‘remains somewhat elevated’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday after cutting it three times in a row last year, a sign of a more cautious approach as the Fed seeks to gauge where inflation is headed and what policies President Donald Trump may pursue. A key reason for the earlier reductions was that hiring weakened in the summer and fall. In its statement Wednesday, the Fed upgraded its assessment of the job market, calling it “solid.” The Fed also appeared to toughen its assessment of inflation, saying that it “remains somewhat elevated.” At a press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell decline to address Trump’s recent comments calling for lower rates.
Rihanna makes first court appearance at the trial of her partner A$AP Rocky, as accuser testifies
Superstar singer Rihanna has made her first appearance at the trial of her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky. The couple that has two young sons together arrived at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse on Wednesday morning. Before his trial started on Jan. 21, He is on trial for two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and could get more than 24 years in prison if he’s convicted. As Rihanna watched, his former friend and accuser testified that Rocky pulled out a gun, shot at him and injured his hands on a Hollywood street in 2021.