Ukraine and US have agreed on a framework economic deal, Ukrainian officials say
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Three senior Ukrainian officials say that Ukraine and the U.S. have reached an agreement on a framework for a broad economic deal that would include access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. The officials, who were familiar with the matter, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. One of them said that Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support that the country urgently needs. President Trump called it “a very big deal,” adding that it could be worth a trillion dollars.
Fired cybersecurity chief for Veterans Affairs site warns that health and financial data is at risk
BOSTON (AP) — A fired federal employee who oversaw cybersecurity at a flagship website for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is warning that sensitive financial and health data could be compromised due to actions taken by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency. Jonathan Kamens led cybersecurity efforts for VA.gov and was fired this month. Dozens of his colleagues from the U.S. Digital Service were fired the same day. Kamens says he’s concerned he won’t be replaced amid the massive downsizing of the federal government. He said banking and other information is used on the VA site and is at risk. The VA says the loss of one employee won’t affect operations and that many others also focus on cybersecurity.
Trump is making calls to help House Speaker Mike Johnson convince GOP to push ‘big’ agenda forward
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has jumped in to help House Speaker Mike Johnson try to muscle a Republican budget blueprint to passage Tuesday. It’s a step toward delivering the president’s “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts. But the speaker is facing stiff opposition from Democrats — and even some Republicans. Tuesday evening’s scheduled vote was uncertain. As Elon Musk is tearing through the federal government, Republicans are being hammered at town halls back home. It’s a familiar GOP problem that slashing federal spending is easier said than done, as constituents back home rely on Medicaid and other programs and services.
The White House says it ‘will determine’ which news outlets cover Trump, rotating traditional ones
The White House says its officials “will determine” which news outlets cover President Donald Trump. That departs from a century of tradition in which a pool of independent news organizations go where the chief executive does and holds him accountable on behalf of regular Americans. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that the changes would rotate some traditional outlets from the group and include some streaming services. She cast the change as a modernization of the press pool, saying the move would restore “access back to the American people” who elected Trump.
Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-one civil service employees have resigned from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they’re refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.” The staffers wrote Tuesday in a joint resignation letter obtained by The AP they “swore to serve the American people” and uphold their oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations but it has become clear they “can no longer honor those commitments.” The staffers who resigned worked for what was once known as the United States Digital Service. Musk called the story “fake news” and said the staffers would have been fired if they didn’t resign.
Vatican says Pope Francis is critical but stable with no new respiratory crises
ROME (AP) — The Vatican says that Pope Francis remains in critical but stable condition. Vatican officials say that his blood parameters are stable, as he battles double pneumonia while continuing to work from the hospital. The Vatican’s evening update said the 88-year-old pope underwent a follow-up CAT scan in Tuesday evening to check the lung infection. But it provided no details of what the scan showed, suggesting the results weren’t back yet. Doctors said regardless he hadn’t had any further respiratory crises, and that his prognosis remained guarded. “In the morning, after receiving the Eucharist, he resumed work activities,” the Vatican statement said.
Southwest Airlines flight abruptly rises to avoid another plane crossing Chicago runway
CHICAGO (AP) — Pilots on a Southwest Airlines flight attempting to land at Chicago’s Midway Airport were forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway. Airport webcam video posted to X shows the Southwest plane approaching a runway just before 9 a.m. Tuesday before its nose abruptly pulls up. A smaller jet is seen crossing the runway that the passenger plane was set to use. Southwest Airlines says Flight 2504 from Omaha, Nebraska, safely landed after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway. The Federal Aviation Administration says the second plane, a business jet, entered the runway without authorization.
A mystery illness in Congo has killed more than 50 people hours after they felt sick
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Health experts say an unknown illness first discovered in three children who ate a bat has rapidly killed more than 50 people in northwestern Congo over the past five weeks. A medical director of a regional monitory center says the interval between the onset of symptoms – which include fever, vomiting and internal bleeding – and death has been 48 hours in most cases and “that’s what’s really worrying.” These “hemorrhagic fever” symptoms are commonly linked to known deadly viruses, such as Ebola, dengue, Marburg and yellow fever, but researchers have ruled these out based on tests of more than a dozen samples collected so far. The latest disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo began on Jan. 21, with 419 cases recorded and 53 deaths.
Asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer a threat to Earth, scientists say
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Scientists have finally given the all-clear to Earth from a newly discovered asteroid. NASA and the European Space Agency said Tuesday that after two months of observations, scientists have almost fully ruled out any threat. At one point, the odds of a strike in 2032 were as high as about 3% and topped the world’s asteroid-risk lists. But ESA lowered the odds to 0.001%. NASA had it down to 0.0027%. But there’s still a 1.7% chance the asteroid could hit the moon in 2032. Discovered in December, the asteroid is about 130 feet to 300 feet across, and swings our way every four years.
Apple shareholders reject proposal to scrap company’s diversity programs
Apple shareholders rebuffed an attempt to pressure the technology trendsetter into joining President Donald Trump’s push to scrub corporate programs designed to diversify its workforce. The proposal drafted by the National Center for Public Policy Research — a self-described conservative think tank — urged Apple to follow a litany of high-profile companies that have retreated from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives currently in the Trump administration’s crosshairs. After a brief presentation about the anti-DEI proposal, Apple announced shareholders had rejected it without disclosing the vote tally. The preliminary results will be outlined in a regulatory filing later Tuesday.