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(NEW YORK) — The Justice Department and attorneys representing a group of FBI employees who sued over a list compiled of personnel who worked on cases stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol reached a temporary deal Friday to ensure the list won’t be released publicly pending further legal proceedings.

The agreement by the Justice Department states “the government will not disseminate the list … to the public, directly or indirectly, before the Court rules on Plaintiff’s anticipated motions for a preliminary injunction.”

If DOJ leadership were to change their minds and release the list, they would need to provide two business days’ notice to attorneys and the court, per the agreement.

The anonymous group of FBI agents had sought a temporary restraining order to keep the FBI from releasing the names on a list the bureau collected as part of what the plaintiffs’ lawsuit says is the agency’s plan to engage in “potential vigilante action” to retaliate against government employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases or Donald Trump’s classified documents case.

After several hours of grueling back and forth during a hearing Thursday, the Justice Department’s attorney, Jeremy Simon, was able to commit that the DOJ itself would not further disseminate the list pending further proceedings in the case — but that answer did not satisfy either the judge or plaintiffs’ attorneys because Simon said he could not ensure that other parties in the government would not be able to release the list in some form.

Simon noted he had no reason to believe the list has been shared beyond DOJ leadership, and ultimately was able to relay from a superior that there’s been no “official” dissemination of the list after it was handed over by the FBI.

“What does that mean?” pressed U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, questioning whether the list could have been unofficially leaked outside of the department.

Simon said he had no reason to believe it had been leaked but couldn’t commit under oath that the list wouldn’t be shared or released by a separate government entity outside of DOJ.

“You represent the government,” Judge Cobb said. “The White House wants this information. Does the government have present intent to publicly release names of FBI agents that worked on Jan. 6 cases?”

“People who have the list don’t have present intent,” Simon replied.

Simon further said he had difficulty getting approval from superiors about language they could agree upon to further bind the government from releasing the list, citing other major civil rulings that the department has faced in just the past several hours.

The parties reached an out-of-court agreement on Friday that restricts the government from releasing the list pending further proceedings. The court set a preliminary injunction hearing over the list for March 27.

Earlier Thursday, attorneys for the agents argued that the release of the list would have serious consequences.

“Our argument is that the threat to national security is so extreme that we cannot risk letting it happen first, and then trying to put it back together,” said attorney for the agents Margaret Donovan in arguing for the temporary restraining order.

“I appreciate that, and I’m sympathetic to that argument,” Judge Cobb said. “A fear of something happening is not sufficient, even if — you know — the fear is a serious one.”

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs warned that the Trump Administration and DOGE head Elon Musk have demonstrated a willingness to publicly name officials they’ve accused of wrongdoing, such as the 51 former intelligence officials who wrote a letter about the Hunter Biden laptop and were later stripped of their security clearances in a Day-1 executive order by President Donald Trump.

“We have seen Elon Musk, working for the so-called DOGE agency, release names of individuals in public service. We have seen Jan. 6 pardonees very active on social media around the time of the survey, anticipating that the names would be released,” Donovan said. “We have a good faith reason to believe that those names may get out.”

In a court filing submitted Thursday morning, the Justice Department urged the judge hearing the case to reject the plaintiffs’ request to impose a restraining order blocking any public release of the list.

DOJ attorneys argued in the filing that the motion for the restraining order is based largely on speculation and that the FBI agents have failed to show they face any imminent threats in connection with the list.

Trump pleaded not guilty in 2023 to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House, and, separately, to charges of undertaking a “criminal scheme” to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The classified documents case was dismissed last year by a federal judge, and both cases were subsequently dropped following Trump’s reelection in November due to a longstanding DOJ policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president.

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(NEW YORK) — Luxury real estate brokers Tal and Oren Alexander, along with their brother Alon, on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to drug and sexually assault dozens of women nearly two months after their arrest.

The three Alexander brothers arrived in Manhattan federal court together in handcuffs, shackles and drab beige jail clothing.

They pleaded not guilty to federal sex trafficking charges in their first court appearance in New York after being arrested in Miami in December. Their transfer was delayed for weeks as they tried unsuccessfully to secure bail.

Prosecutors announced plans to file additional charges, stating that more than 60 women alleged they were raped by at least one of the brothers. The three siblings have been accused of luring women to nightclubs and parties, then drugging and sexually assaulting them.

“We do intend to bring a superseding indictment in this case,” prosecutor Elizabeth Espinosa said. “I think we will need another month or two.”

Espinosa said that investigators gathered a “substantial” amount of evidence, including accounts from alleged victims, as well as data from iCloud, Instagram, Facebook, dating apps, cell phones, laptop computers and electronic storage devices.

In a January court hearing, when the brothers were still in Florida, prosecutor Andrew Jones said FBI agents found multiple hard drives in a closet of Tal’s apartment during a search.

They allegedly contained “a large quantity of sexually explicit videos and photos” showing the brothers with drunk, naked women who were unaware they were being recorded. According to prosecutors, some of the women tried to hide or flee from the camera when they realized they were being filmed.

Defense attorney Deanna Paul, who is representing Tal, called the allegations “speculative” and questioned what the videos depict, prompting U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to interject.

“In my view, having a sex with a woman who is incapacitated is likely rape,” Caproni said.

On Friday, Caproni scheduled the trial for Jan. 5, 2026, anticipating it will last at least a month. Defense attorneys have until early May to file a motion to dismiss. The next in-person court hearing is scheduled for mid-July.

All three brothers face 15 years to life in prison if convicted of the federal charges. Oren and Tal were prominent New York and Miami real estate agents, working with wealthy and celebrity clients.

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(GREENCASTLE, Pa.) — The CEO of Pete and Gerry’s Eggs is speaking out after 100,000 eggs mysteriously disappeared from one of its facilities in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, last weekend.

In an exclusive interview with “Good Morning America,” Tom Flocco said the egg firm, which contracts with over 300 farms across the country, is going to boost security measures after 8,000 cartons — worth $40,000 — were stolen from the back of a distribution trailer at approximately 8:40 p.m. on Feb. 2.

“I’ve worked in other industries before where things get stolen from factories,” Flocco told “GMA’s” Elizabeth Schulze. “It happens. It’s terrible. I’m not happy about it, but it does happen.”

To ensure this does not occur again, Flocco said the company will place additional security on the ground, install better lighting and include extra cameras throughout its facilities.

“It could happen once, it could happen again,” Flocco said. “We are putting additional measures in place.”

Police are still scrambling to find a suspect and closely examining video surveillance. If the public knows of any leads, officials urge people to contact Pennsylvania State Police Chambersburg.

“We are working with local authorities in Pennsylvania and we’re giving them our full cooperation,” Flocco said. “We’ll let you know when we learn more.”

Flocco said the thieves might face one obstacle after this unusual heist: The eggs need to stay refrigerated as they are transported, since they can spoil at room temperature.

“They’re transported in a refrigerated truck, they’re brought into a refrigerated warehouse, kept there until they’re ready to be processed, washed, cooled and kept cold until we eat them,” Flocco said.

This case comes amid a soaring amount of bird flu infections occurring across the United States, which is also causing an egg shortage. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 142 flocks were confirmed to test positive for bird flu, also known as avian influenza, in the last 30 days.

When a bird becomes infected with the virus, the animal needs to be culled and the eggs need to be destroyed. With more farms experiencing bird flu outbreaks, the USDA predicted at the end of January that egg prices will rise up to 20%.

Restaurants like the Waffle House have implemented a surcharge of 50 cents for egg items on their menu due to the shortage, the company announced on Monday. Flocco said Pete and Gerry’s Eggs will continue to remain at the same price of about $7 a dozen, despite the recent heist.

“We’re finding the consumer interest for our product is greater than it’s ever been and we only expect it to continue,” Flocco said. “We are charging the same price to our retail partners today as we did a year ago.”

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(NOME, Alaska) — Crews in Nome, Alaska, are conducting search-and-rescue operations after a Bering Air caravan with 10 people aboard went missing, according to local authorities.

Bering Air Flight 445, a Cessna 208B, disappeared while flying from Unalakleet Airport to Nome Airport around 3:20 p.m. local time Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

“The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost,” the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska maritime region said.

There were nine passengers and a pilot on board.

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post it was conducting an active ground search but that, due to weather and visibility, its crews were unable to search by air.

A National Guard C-130 reported it found nothing found so far. The Air Force also sent a C-130 to resume the search and also reported no visuals, and have one hour of flight search time remaining, according to an update early Friday morning.

The National Transportation Safety Board is aware of the reports and is monitoring situation, ABC News has learned.

ABC News’ Marilyn Heck contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — The storm that brought heavy rain and mountain snow to the West Coast is making the trek across the country to bring a significant snowstorm to the Northeast this weekend.

The snow will first hit the upper Midwest on Friday. Up to 8 inches of snow is expected, with cold and blustery weather sticking around through the weekend in states like Minnesota and Wisconsin.

On Saturday, that storm combines with moisture streaming in from the South, enhancing the snow potential for a large portion of the Northeast.

Cities like Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston are all facing heavy snow from Saturday evening into Sunday morning.

A winter storm watch is in effect in the Northeast; there’s a high likelihood of 4 to 8 inches of snow. New York City is included in the winter storm watch, though the city will be right on the fringe of heavier snow to the north and much lesser amounts to the south.

Some spots in New England could see up to 1 foot of snow.

Then, next week, another storm could bring more snow and ice to the Interstate 95 corridor. Cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston are all looking at a potential winter storm Tuesday into Wednesday.
 

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(NEW YORK) — Live bird markets in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County will be shut down for a week after seven cases of avian flu in poultry were found at live bird markets in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, state officials said Friday.

The cases were discovered during routine inspections. All infected flocks will be depopulated, officials said.

The state stressed the shutdowns are prudent steps. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul noted that avian flu does not pose a public health threat.

The order requires those markets to sell down all inventory, complete cleaning and disinfection procedures and remain closed for a period of five days after cleaning and disinfection.

There are no human cases of avian influenza, and the threat to the public is low.

Cases of bird flu have increased among animals — including dairy cows, wild birds, poultry and even pet cats.

On Wednesday, a second type of bird flu was found in dairy cows for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced.

The number of birds affected by the virus has been rising in recent months, with roughly 7 million affected in November, 18 million in December, and 23 million in January, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

ABC News’ Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.
 

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(NEW YORK) — During the final weeks of the Biden administration, the Department of Justice announced consent decrees for police reform with the cities of Minneapolis and Louisville – court-enforceable agreements born out of probes launched after the 2020 police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

But after officials in the Trump administration issued a memo last month ordering a temporary freeze on ongoing cases being litigated by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, the future of those agreements, which have yet to be approved in federal court, is now uncertain.

The memo, which was reviewed by ABC News, also directed Kathleen Wolfe, acting head of the DOJ Civil Rights division, to notify Trump DOJ leaders of any consent decrees the Biden administration reached with cities in the final 90 days leading up to the inauguration, signaling a potential review.

“[The Trump administration] wanted to look at any agreements that had been completed within the last 90 days of the inauguration, which obviously would include Minneapolis and Louisville,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told ABC News. “The [Trump] DOJ could go to the court and say they’re no longer interested in this.”

O’Hara, who previously was Public Safety Director for Newark, New Jersey, during the implementation of a federal consent decree, said that the Trump administration could intervene in the process because the agreements have not been finalized in federal court.

But O’Hara emphasized that since the agreements have already been filed, whether they are approved is not up to the White House, but “ultimately in the federal judge’s hands.”

The memo to freeze litigation came ahead of the confirmation hearing for Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Pam Bondi, and his nominee to lead the DOJ’s civil rights division, Harmeet Dhillon. Bondi was confirmed on Tuesday.

Asked about the timeline for the freeze on litigation and what actions the DOJ is planning to take regarding the Minneapolis and Louisville consent decrees, a spokesperson for the DOJ declined ABC News’ request for comment.

The consent decrees each lay out a roadmap for police reform to rectify civil rights violations that the DOJ uncovered and, if approved by a federal judge, the court will appoint an independent monitor to oversee the implementation of the reforms and actions outlined in the agreement.

“I don’t think any city, any police chief wants to get a consent decree,” O’Hara said. “You know, that’s not a badge of honor in any way and something that ultimately costs the city millions and millions of dollars just to simply be monitored, let alone to do the work that is required to reform.”

But O’Hara added that consent decrees do provide police departments with additional resources needed to implement reforms. “I think the main benefit to police chiefs of these agreements is it requires cities to make certain investments, both in the officers’ health and welfare, as well as in training and supervision,” he said, “but without that court order, there is not necessarily an incentive for cities to prioritize some of those investments.”

City officials and police vow to forge ahead with reform

City officials and police in both Louisville and Minneapolis told ABC News that they are prepared to move forward with the agreed upon reforms with or without the oversight of the Trump administration.

Kevin Trager, a spokesman for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, told ABC News that the city and police are committed to the reforms agreed upon in the consent decree, “regardless of what happens in federal court.”

“Louisville Metro Government and LMPD will move forward and honor our commitment to meaningful improvements and reforms,” Trager said.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told ABC News that the city has “not heard directly” from the Trump administration regarding the consent decree, but the city plans to move forward with the terms of the agreement “with or without support from the White House.”

“It’s unfortunate the Trump administration may not be interested in cooperating with us to improve policing and support our community, but make no mistake: we have the tools, the resolve, and the community’s backing to fulfill our promise to the people of Minneapolis. Our work will not be stopped,” Frey said.

O’Hara, who was tapped to lead Minneapolis police in 2022 amid national outrage over the killing of George Floyd in police custody, echoed Frey’s commitment to the reforms, but pointed out that Minneapolis is already under a state consent decree that was approved in July 2023 and includes similar reforms that are outlined in the federal agreement.

“It is possible we may wind up not having a federal consent decree, although I don’t think it’s likely,” O’Hara said, “but again, I think a majority of what is contemplated in the federal consent decree exists already in the state consent decree. There’s already been a ton of work toward making those requirements real.”

O’Hara said that he already created a use of force investigation teams within the MPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau – a move that was not required by the state but is required under the federal agreement.

“That’s something that I already had started long before we had the draft agreement, because I know that’s a best practice in this profession,” O’Hara said, but added that the approval of the federal consent decree would give MPD the resources and the staffing that it needs to carry out these reforms.

“It is not yet staffed up and resourced the way that it should be, and the federal consent decree requires significant more investment in it,” he said.

Where things stand in the courts

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the families of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, told ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis in an interview last Wednesday that the families want to see the consent decrees approved in federal court.

“This is very disturbing,” Crump said, referencing the Trump administration’s freeze on civil rights litigation.

“Breonna’s mother is very heartbroken, Linsey. Very heartbroken. She’s fought so hard to get whatever measure of justice and accountability she could,” he added. “She is just shocked that they would do this, just like George Floyd’s family is shocked.”

The Minneapolis federal consent decree is being reviewed by Judge Paul A. Magnuson, a senior judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota who was appointed by President Ronald Regan.

The agreement, which was announced by the DOJ Jan. 6, focuses on “preventing excessive force; stopping racially discriminatory policing; improving officers’ interactions with youth; protecting the public’s First Amendment rights; preventing discrimination against people with behavioral health disabilities; promoting well-being of officers and employees; and enhancing officers’ supervision and accountability,” according to the DOJ.

A spokesperson for Frey told ABC News that the city has “not heard directly” from the Trump administration regarding the consent decree and, according to O’Hara, Minneapolis is still “awaiting a court date to be set” in this case.

Meanwhile, the Louisville consent decree, which was announced on Dec. 12, 2024, is in the hands of Judge Benjamin Beaton of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.

The agreement lays out “specific policies, trainings, and programs” that the city and police “will implement to protect the rights of Louisville residents and promote public safety,” as well as a requirement to “collect and analyze data to improve as an agency and to hold officers and Louisville Metro employees accountable,” according to the DOJ. The reforms listed in the agreement include steps for LMPD to use “appropriate de-escalation techniques and attempt to resolve incidents without force when possible, and use force in a manner that is reasonable, necessary, and proportional to the threat presented,” as well as “taking steps to reduce unlawful racial disparities in enforcement.”

Beaton, who was appointed by Trump during his first term as president in 2020, questioned the need for the consent decree during a hearing on Jan. 13, according to ABC affiliate in Louisville, WHAS11, where he asked DOJ officials whether there is a “less intrusive manner of resolving the dispute” without judicial oversight.

The Fraternal Order of Police – the largest police union in the country, which endorsed Trump during both of his presidential campaigns – filed a motion on Dec. 27 to intervene in the Louisville consent decree and asked Beaton to oppose it in its current form. In the motion, the union argued that the consent decree violates the collective bargaining agreement between them and the city, according to WHAS11.

Asked about the status of the consent decree, a spokesperson for Greenberg told ABC News that “the city is preparing to file a brief in support of the consent decree by Feb. 18, as requested by the judge.”

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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(NEW ORLEANS) — Just a little over a month since 14 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a truck-ramming terror attack on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, the victims and first responders of the rampage will be honored at Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, according to the NFL.

For the eleventh time, the Super Bowl will be played in the Big Easy, but the normally festive atmosphere will include a somber tribute to the victims and the heroes of the New Year’s Day tragedy.

While the NFL is keeping details of the ceremony under wraps, league spokesperson Brian McCarthy told ABC News, “We will appropriately honor the victims and first responders.”

The big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will be played in front of more than 75,000 fans expected to attend the game at the Caesars Superdome and millions more around the world watching on TV.

Among the crowd at the game are expected to be some of the survivors of the attack, firefighters and paramedics who rushed to the chaotic scene to treat the injured, and police who stopped the attack by killing the suspect during a gun battle.

During the Sugar Bowl, a college football playoff game that was delayed a day due to the attack, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell led a moment of silence before the game, also played at the Superdome, and former President Joe Biden addressed the crowd in a video statement, saying, “The spirit of New Orleans can never be kept down.”

President Donald Trump is planning to attend Sunday’s Super Bowl, according to White House officials. It will mark the first time a sitting president will appear at the game.

A spokesperson for the city of New Orleans referred ABC News to the NFL about Sunday’s plans to honor the victims and first responders of the Jan. 1 attack.

Over the past week, players on the Super Bowl teams, as well as the New Orleans Saints, have been surprising survivors of the attack with tickets to the big game.

On Monday, Saints linebacker Demario Davis teamed up with a furniture company to gift Stevey Kells, a nurse who rushed to provide first aid to victims of the attack, with tickets to the game.

It’s a resilient city. That response began with the first responders, those who were on scene and those who had to react quickly, and she was there,” Davis told reporters after presenting Kells the tickets. “So, it means a lot. To be able to give back to somebody who’s given so much, was awesome. That’s what it’s all about.”

Eagles players also gifted Super Bowl tickets to Ryan Quigley, a former Princeton University football player and Eagles fan who was injured in the attack and whose friend, 27-year-old Martin “Tiger” Bech, was killed.

Eagles player Brandon Graham surprised Quigley with two Super Bowl tickets last week after the team invited Quigley and Bech’s sister to the Eagles practice facility in Philadelphia.

“We wanted to tell you the real reason we brought you. It’s OK if you’re not feeling it, but we would love to have you down for the Super Bowl,” Graham told Quigley in a video the team shared on its Facebook page.

In the video, Quigley said his best friend, Bech, was the “biggest fan” of the Eagles.

“We went to every home game last year,” Quigley told Graham in the video. “All year… I told him if we make it, ‘I promise I’m gonna take you to the Super Bowl.’ So, I’d love nothing more than to still take him.”

The Super Bowl will unfold under tight security with more than 2,700 state, federal and local law enforcement members securing the game, according to officials.

“We have reviewed and re-reviewed all the details of what happened on Jan. 1,” NFL Chief of Security Cathy Lanier said during a news conference on Monday. “We have reviewed and re-reviewed each of our roles within the overarching security plan, and we have reassessed and stressed tested — our timing, our communication protocols, our contingency measures and our emergency response plans multiple times over, over the past several weeks.”

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at least 700 Homeland Security personnel will be on the ground in New Orleans to bolster security at the game and more will be added if the need arises. Noem said that at this point, there have been no specific credible threats reported.

“This Super Bowl exemplifies how we come together to safeguard our traditions, how we come together to make sure that the public is well-informed and gets the chance to celebrate something that is very special to us, our culture, to our people and our families,” Noem said.

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(WASHINGTON) — As Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency works to reduce government spending by eliminating waste and cutting diversity programs, his SpaceX corporation currently has a multibillion dollar contract to help NASA land the first woman and first person of color on the moon.

In 2021, NASA announced that it had awarded a $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX to build a spacecraft for long-term human exploration of the moon under its Artemis program.

“NASA is getting ready to send astronauts to explore more of the Moon as part of the Artemis program,” NASA said in the 2021 press release. “At least one of those astronauts will make history as the first woman on the Moon. Another goal of the Artemis program includes landing the first person of color on the lunar surface.”

In 2023, NASA announced that the crew for the Artemis moon exploration mission would be Navy Capt. Victor Glover, a Black Engineer of the Year Award honoree, and North Carolina native Christina Koch, the record-holder for the longest single spaceflight by a woman, as well as former chief of the Astronaut Office Reid Wiseman and Canadian astronaut and fighter pilot Jeremy Hansen.

“For a woman to be on the crew and for a Black astronaut to be on the crew, because that’s what our office looks like, to me it is important,” Glover told ABC News’ Linsey Davis in February 2024.

Musk, as the head of DOGE, is taking a knife to federal agencies and programs as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the size of government. He has claimed to have cut a billion dollars’ worth of federal DEI programs, and sources say DOGE has directed agencies to remove anything DEI-related from bulletin boards, including posters and signs, and has checked bathroom signs to ensure they comply with Trump’s executive orders to eliminate DEI initiatives from the federal government.

NASA representatives and representatives for SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Since the 2021 announcement of the partnership with SpaceX, NASA has announced additional contracts for Musk’s space company as part of the moon landing mission. So far, SpaceX has received $2.8 billion in obligations, with the possibility of the total award going up to $4.4 billion, according to federal spending data.

SpaceX has received more than $18 billion in federal contracts over the last decade, with NASA making up $13 billion of that, federal spending data shows.

“SpaceX will not let NASA down!” Musk tweeted in 2022 in response to a post by then-NASA administrator Bill Nelson announcing an additional $1.15 billion contract for the company.

Last month, NASA said the agency would comply with Trump’s executive order aimed at ending DEI programs, by amending certain program elements, including ending the “Inclusion Plan Pilot Study,” removing requirements for “Inclusion Plans,” and removing “references to NASA’s DEIA programs.” It’s not yet clear if NASA’s compliance with Trump’s DEI order extends to each of its contractors.

The Artemis program was first established in 2017 under a directive from Trump during his first administration, with the aim of bringing humans to the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, plus a long-term goal of expanding to Mars.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio told embassy officials in Guatemala this week that it was “not our intention” to uproot families deployed overseas with USAID, despite the agency issuing a 30-day mandate for their return.

“I know it’s hard to ask for patience. I know it’s hard to ask for trust,” Rubio said, according to a partial transcript of his meet-and-greet with embassy staff that was obtained by ABC News.

Rubio, who was tapped to serve as the acting director of the aid agency, also seemed to acknowledge the administration’s haphazard approach to cutting USAID — which handles foreign aid, disaster relief and international development programs — saying it was undertaken “in a manner that we would have preferred to be different, but we’re forced to do because of impediments that we would confront.”

Elon Musk, the head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, said earlier this week he was “in the process” of “shutting down” the agency with the backing of President Donald Trump, as part of efforts to trim the size of the federal government and eliminate waste.

The Trump administration on Wednesday placed all direct-hire employees at USAID on administrative leave starting Friday, with plans to recall all foreign-based USAID employees back to the U.S. within 30 days.

In the transcript of Rubio’s meeting with Guatemalan embassy staff, he says that the ambassador to Guatemala “handed” him a list of USAID programs in the country that he said “align with our U.S. goals and our interests.” That list was the result of an all-night scramble by staff who were directed to compile it shortly after the secretary arrived in the country, according to an embassy official.

Rubio said that document “gave us the idea that we should ask the same exercise be conducted by every Mission around the world so that intelligent decisions can be made” regarding which programs to keep, before the end of Thursday.

The directive has quickly resulted in pushback from some USAID staff stationed abroad, who say the Thursday deadline set by State Department leadership will be extremely difficult for most posts to meet, and that it may be part of a strategy to avoid lawsuits from agency employees that could slow down its dismantling.

“Absolutely impossible,” one USAID employee told ABC News. “Clearly, the 90-day foreign aid review has been compressed to two days.”

Rubio’s remarks came in response to concerns from Haven Cruz-Hubbard, the USAID mission director for Guatemala, who asked about the administration’s efforts to curb foreign aid. Rubio insisted that “the United States is not walking away from foreign aid. It’s not.”

“I want to tell you that this is not about politics, but foreign aid is the least popular thing Government spends money on,” Rubio said, according to the transcript. “And I spent a lot of time in my career defending it and explaining it, but it’s harder and harder to do across the board — it really is.”

Rubio’s private comments generally reflect what he’s said publicly about the cuts to foreign aid — but his sentiments seemed more sympathetic toward the workers whose careers and livelihoods hang in the balance.

“For those of us in charge of doing the work of foreign policy, we understand [foreign aid] is essential,” he said.

The New York Times was first to report on the partial transcript.

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