How job cuts at NOAA could impact weather forecasting

How job cuts at NOAA could impact weather forecasting
How job cuts at NOAA could impact weather forecasting
Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — Firings at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will have reverberating impacts on how meteorologists across the country forecast the weather, according to experts.

Last week, many NOAA employees took to social media to announce that they had been terminated after weeks of uncertainty as the Trump administration continues to make cuts at federal agencies. But the widespread firings of meteorologists who make safety determinations based on upcoming weather and climate conditions could be detrimental to the government’s ability to protect Americans in times of disaster, experts told ABC News.

NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS), which is a part of NOAA, are responsible for both routine and extreme weather forecasting nationwide – tracking hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, tsunamis and other potentially life-threatening events. The union representing staffers at NOAA and the NWS told ABC News in an emailed statement that 586 probationary employees were terminated from NOAA on Feb. 27, with 108 of those cuts coming from the NWS.

The National Weather Service was already short-staffed ahead of the cuts, with more than 600 vacancies at the start of 2025, National Weather Service Employees Organization General Counsel Richard Hirn said in the statement. In addition, 500 employees, including 172 NWS employees, accepted a deferred resignation and began their administrative leave the next day.

“Which means that hundreds of operational personnel who usually staff the 122 NWS forecast offices, 13 River Forecast Centers, and two tsunami warning centers will disappear overnight,” Hirn told ABC News.

It’s unclear whether there will be sufficient staffing left at any number of regional forecast offices to continue 24/7 operations, Hirn said, adding that “there are only a dozen or so forecasters assigned to each office when fully staffed.”

The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory announced on Feb. 27 that the office’s communication services would “be taking an indefinite hiatus” due to a reduction in staff.

In addition, the loss of satellite operators at the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and the Wallops Island Command and Data Acquisition Station in Wallops Island, Virginia, could impact the ability of the NWS to track and maintain the weather data used to forecast and provide severe weather warnings, Hirn said.

Many essential functions, such as satellite information, weather and its effect on airplane engine health, come from these offices, said Craig McLean, former NOAA director of research, during a news conference last Friday.

“Leaving NOAA understaffed will inevitably lead to additional chaos and confusion beyond what we’ve had over the last several weeks and is going to be a negative impact on people’s lives,” McClean said.

The cuts will lead to significant consequences for weather forecasting accuracy, sea navigation, the fishing industry and air safety, Democrats and former NOAA leadership officials said in a news conference the Friday after last week’s dismissals. Officials also expect an early termination of leases on a portion of the 620 facilities run by NOAA across the country.

“All of NOAA’s mission responsibilities have been impacted – every office in NOAA,” Rick Spinrad, former NOAA administrator, said during the news conference. “Every office in NOAA was hit by these indiscriminate, misguided, ill-informed terminations.”

The terminations come as the U.S. heads into tornado season, with hurricane season not too far behind, Spinrad said. Seasonal outlooks will be impacted in addition to the immediate weather forecasting products, Spinrad added.

“Musk and his fake officials, the DOGE tech bros, have been rummaging through our most sensitive data without authority in violation of the law for weeks now,” House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said in a statement. “And this has come with sweeping, indiscriminate layoffs of nonpartisan public servants. Park rangers, firefighters, scientists – all of these people, whose purpose is to serve everyday Americans, have had the rug pulled out from under them. And we will all be worse off for it.”

Among the fired scientists were a researcher at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton, New Jersey; a NWS meteorologist in Anchorage, Alaska; a physical scientist with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction; and the meteorologist in charge at the NWS Louisville office, according to posts to social media.

Hirn said the union was aware of up to an additional 800 probationary NOAA employees could soon be terminated following the initial dismissals. Those additional cuts do not yet appear to have happened.

In a statement to ABC News, NOAA and the NWS declined to comment on or confirm the staffing cuts, saying that the agency does not comment on personnel matters, but NOAA National Press Officer for Weather Susan Buchanan emphasized the agency’s ongoing commitment to meteorology.

“NOAA remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience,” Buchanan said. “We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission.”

On Monday, demonstrators gathered outside of NOAA headquarters in Washington, D.C. to protest the employee dismissals.

“NOAA workers across the country are really kind of tense and waiting to hear what may happen,” Sarah Cooley, former head of NOAA’s ocean acidification program, told ABC News during the protest.

Tom Di Liberto, an ousted public affairs specialist and climate scientist with NOAA, told ABC News that his job before he was dismissed was to help communicate to the public exactly what NOAA does.

“If you ever wondered what the weather was like outside, if you’ve ever been to the ocean, you’re interacting with NOAA,” Di Liberto said. “If you ever looked at temperature on your phone, that’s probably NOAA data coming to you. Every aspect of everything we do outside is related to what NOAA does, which is why this is such a dangerous thing. You’re playing games with potentially lifesaving information to go out to people, or making that harder to get out the people.”

ABC News’ Matthew Glasser, Cheyenne Haslett, Daniel Manzo, Daniel Peck and Ginger Zee contributed to this report.

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40 new cases of measles reported in Texas as outbreak grows to 198: Officials

40 new cases of measles reported in Texas as outbreak grows to 198: Officials
40 new cases of measles reported in Texas as outbreak grows to 198: Officials
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

(GAINES COUNTY, Texas) — The number of measles cases associated with an outbreak in western Texas has grown to 198, with 40 cases reported over the last three days, according to new data released Friday.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, with 80 unvaccinated and 113 of unknown status. At least 23 people have been hospitalized so far, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Just five cases have occurred in people vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, followed by children ages 4 and under.

So far just one death has been reported in an unvaccinated school-aged child, according to DSHS. The child did not have any known underlying conditions, according to the department.

The Texas death was the first measles death recorded in the U.S. in a decade, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A possible second measles death was recorded on Thursday after an unvaccinated New Mexico resident tested positive for the virus. The New Mexico Department of Health said the official cause of death is still under investigation.

Gaines County is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 137 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS. More than 90% of cases have been identified in just six counties, which account for less than 1% of the state’s total population, the department said.

State health data shows the number of vaccine exemptions in Gaines County have grown dramatically.

Roughly 7.5% of kindergarteners in the county had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine in 2013. Ten years later, that number rose to more than 17.5% — one of the highest in all of Texas, according to state health data.

The CDC has separately confirmed 164 cases in nine states so far this year in Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Texas.

The total, however, is likely an undercount due to delays in reporting from states to the federal government.

The majority of nationally confirmed cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. Of the cases, 3% are among those who received one dose of the MMR shot and 2% are among those who received two doses.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles to up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the CDC.

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the MMR vaccine.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.

Texas health officials are recommending — for those living in the outbreak area — that parents consider an early dose of MMR vaccine for children between ages 6 months and 11 months and that adults receive a second MMR dose if they only received one in the past.

Earlier this week, the CDC said in a post on X that it was on the ground in Texas, partnering with DSHS officials to respond to the measles outbreak.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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Trump says he sent a letter to Iran urging negotiations on nuclear weapons

Trump says he sent a letter to Iran urging negotiations on nuclear weapons
Trump says he sent a letter to Iran urging negotiations on nuclear weapons
Alex Wong/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei about negotiating a nuclear deal, while also threatening military action if an agreement isn’t reached.

Trump said he sent the letter on Wednesday during an interview with Fox Business, a clip of which was released by the network on Friday.

“There are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal,” Trump told Fox host Maria Bartiromo.

“I would rather negotiate a deal. I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily,” Trump said. “But the time is happening now, the time is coming up. Something is going to happen one way or the other. I hope that Iran, and I’ve written them a letter, saying I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily it’s going to be a terrible thing for them.”

Bartiromo asked the president if he gave Iranian leadership an ultimatum.

“No I didn’t say, ‘You better.’ I said, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate,’ because it will be a lot better for Iran. I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon,” Trump warned.

This isn’t the first time Trump has sent a message to Khamenei. In 2019, with the help of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he sent a similar message, but the Iranian leader publicly rejected that offer to talk.

Khamenei reportedly said at the time, “I do not consider Trump as a person worth exchanging any message with.”

Trump’s comments proposing a nuclear deal come after he withdrew the U.S. from an agreement reached between Iran and the Obama administration during his first term in office. That nuclear deal, established in 2015, allowed Iran to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity and maintain a stockpile of uranium of 300 kilograms.

Last month, Trump signed a memorandum that seeks to exert “maximum pressure” on Iran, including pushing its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from possessing nuclear weapons capability.

“I’m going to sign it, but hopefully we’re not going to have to use it very much. We will see whether or not we can arrange or work out a deal with Iran,” he said.

Asked about what kind of deal he’d like to see, Trump responded: “We’re going to see. They cannot have a nuclear weapon. With me, it’s very simple: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

As he spoke on the issue in the Oval Office, Trump also said he’s left instructions to “obliterate” Iran if they ever carried out an assassination.

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Trump threatens Russia with sanctions, tariffs until ceasefire, peace deal with Ukraine

Trump threatens Russia with sanctions, tariffs until ceasefire, peace deal with Ukraine
Trump threatens Russia with sanctions, tariffs until ceasefire, peace deal with Ukraine
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he would turn up the heat on Russia until it reaches a ceasefire and peace deal with Ukraine.

Trump threatened Russia with sanctions and tariffs in a Truth Social post.

“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you,” he posted without further details.

The Biden administration previously issued sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine three years ago.

Trump has come under criticism for not being tough on Putin during his negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict. He has falsely and repeatedly claimed that Ukraine started the war.

The president’s post came hours after Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine in which it deployed 261 missiles and drones that targeted energy and gas infrastructure in various regions, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Trump administration also paused military aid and intelligence data with Ukraine this week, following last week’s explosive argument between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump and Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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US hiring falls short of expectations in 1st full month of Trump term

US hiring falls short of expectations in 1st full month of Trump term
US hiring falls short of expectations in 1st full month of Trump term
Win McNamee/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. added fewer jobs than economists expected in February, the first full month under President Donald Trump, according to government data released on Friday.

Employers hired 151,000 workers last month, falling short of expectations of 170,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, which remains a historically low figure.

Stock market futures appeared to shrug off the disappointing report. Each of the three major stock indexes ticked up in the minutes following the data release.

Hiring picked up from January but fell slightly below the average number of jobs added each month last year.

Employment increased in a range of sectors, including health care, social assistance and finance, data showed.

However, the federal government shed 10,000 workers in February, indicating potential impact from employee cuts initiated by the Trump administration.

The fresh jobs report arrives during a turbulent period for U.S. stocks and trade relations in the aftermath of tariffs issued by the Trump administration earlier this week.

Despite the temporary withdrawal of some tariffs on Thursday, stocks dropped as fallout from the policy continued to roil markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday tumbled about 425 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 2.6%.

The tariffs stand among a flurry of economy-related directives issued since Trump took office, including spending cuts and the targeting of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The Trump administration has also terminated tens of thousands of federal employees, though such cuts are not expected to appear fully in the February report, in part due to the timing of surveys conducted by officials who collect the data.

Meanwhile, the economy is weathering a bout of resurgent inflation that stretches back to the final months of the Biden administration.

Consumer prices rose 3% in January compared to a year ago, registering a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

Egg prices, a closely watched symbol of rising costs, soared 53% in January compared to a year ago. BIrd flu has decimated the egg supply, lifting prices higher.

In February, a key gauge of consumer confidence registered its largest monthly drop since August 2021, the nonpartisan Conference Board said last month.

The share of consumers who expect a recession within the next year surged to a nine-month high, the data showed. A growing portion of consumers believe the job market will worsen, the stock market will fall and interest rates will rise, the report added.

Still, some measures of consumer sentiment improved. Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions moved higher, while an uptick in purchasing plans for a home extended a monthslong recovery.

Mortgage rates have dropped for seven consecutive weeks, FreddieMac data showed. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.63%, its lowest level since December.
 

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Porn industry, parent groups clash over online age-verification laws

Porn industry, parent groups clash over online age-verification laws
Porn industry, parent groups clash over online age-verification laws
ABC News

(LAS VEGAS) — To Cherie DeVille, one of the adult entertainment industry’s most popular stars, pornography — and its easy accessibility online — is a fundamental freedom protected by the First Amendment.

“This isn’t a whim or something that I’m going to do for a week. I love this job,” said the former physical therapist turned sex worker who has millions of followers on social media. “It’s very good business for me.”

To parents with young children, like Dawn Hawkins of Virginia, America’s multibillion-dollar porn juggernaut is a social poison infiltrating families via the internet.

“How are we going to teach our children healthy intimacy and boundaries and consent when what they’re viewing across multiple platforms is sharing really the opposite message,” said Hawkins, who wants stricter controls for sexually-explicit content.

The age-old debate over the widespread availability of pornography in America will enter a new phase this spring as the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether states can legally require websites hosting adult content to perform electronic age verification of all users.

A green light for online age checks could dramatically alter how millions of U.S. adults access sexually explicit content on their phones, tablets, and computers and potentially build a more stringent safety barrier for children than what currently exists.

The decision will come at a time when hardcore porn is booming business and easier to obtain than ever before, with the rapid proliferation of adult film studios, live camera websites, social media platforms, and online networks of amateur creators. Many sites have no paywall or age verification gateways.

“It’s not a matter of if my kids are going to be exposed to pornography. It’s a matter of when. It’s definitely going to happen,” said Hawkins, a mother of 5 who also heads the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which has led an effort to crack down on the porn industry.

Hawkins and many national parent organizations have voiced growing concern in recent years that software filters and parental controls on personal electronics – installed by manufacturers and long considered the primary line of defense for families – have not been effective at keeping explicit content from kids.

More than 70% of men and 40% of women say they’ve consumed sexually explicit content in the past year, according to a recent study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. American teens have reported similar levels of exposure in studies reviewed by ABC News.

Public health experts say young people who view sexually explicit content are more likely to start having sex earlier, engage in unsafe sex, and have multiple partners.

“As long as we’re prioritizing adults’ access to this content and not also prioritizing children’s safety, we are going to destroy the next generation,” said Hawkins. “We are just asking that the pornography companies put a fence around it and make sure that those accessing this content are of age.”

Nineteen states have recently passed laws mandating that sites containing sexually-explicit material harmful to children require all users to upload a copy of their digital or government ID, or perform a biometric scan, in order to verify that they are over 18. Legislators say the measures are common sense steps similar to age checks at brick-and-mortar stores.

“It’s possible to prove your age entirely on your own cell phone. So, no personal data need ever leave the palm of your hand,” said Iain Corby, executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, an industry trade group that sells technology to adult websites.

Third-party apps — used widely by porn sites across Europe — can make the verification process fast, free, and secure for consumers, Corby said.

“The simple case might be using a driver’s license. So you would be redirected to an agency’s website, and then once you’ve done a photo of your I.D., you do a selfie. And then we check that the two match,” Corby said. “We just tell that website that you’re over 18 – not your name, not your face, and not even your actual date of birth. Just that you were over 18.

“Another option works in a very similar way to facial estimation, but in fact, it’s based on how you move your hands,” added Corby, demonstrating the biometric scan technology for ABC News.

The porn industry, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, says online age-verification requirements are unconstitutional, infringing on adult rights by putting privacy at risk and impeding access to legal content.

Decades of Supreme Court precedent have upheld the constitutionality of pornographic material and adults’ right to access it. In two separate cases, the court previously ruled that the government can’t mandate age verification of users online before allowing them to see explicit material.

“Whenever the government is passing a law in the name of protecting kids, I think there are serious questions to be asked about whether what it’s really doing is saying this speech is bad for everyone,” said Vera Eidelman, an ACLU attorney. “And that’s exactly what the First Amendment exists to protect against.”

Industry advocates say the onus should remain on parents and technology companies, which they claim have the capacity to install smarter content filters and other safety monitoring controls on devices used by kids.

“Kids are going to do what they’re going to do. You know, you don’t ban alcohol because kids can get a fake ID or because they can drink from their parents’ liquor cabinet,” said Ken Fields, an adult film actor who opposes electronic age verification laws. “You do the best you can to try to keep that from happening within reason without infringing on the legal rights of legal adults and citizens.”

The Texas law at issue before the Supreme Court applies to websites with more than one-third of sexually-explicit content harmful to children. It does not apply to search engines or social media sites. Critics say it could also limit teenagers’ access to public health and sexual health resources unrelated to porn.

“I think their heart is in the right place. The execution is not there,” said Nick from Colorado, an attendee at the AVN Expo in Las Vegas last month, the nation’s annual adult entertainment convention. “There’s a way to do it, it’s just not the way it’s being done.”

Several participants, who all declined to share their last names, told ABC News they worried about a loss of anonymity when surfing to adult websites. “If you do absolutely upload your driver’s license, who gets it? So where does that information go?” said Meredith from Tennessee.

“There’s a lot of ways you can get shamed, whether it’s at work or other places,” said Brett from Florida. “It’s more of a privacy concern than anything else.”

During Supreme Court oral arguments last month in a major test case from Texas, a majority of justices appeared sympathetic to the states’ efforts to limit kids’ exposure to sexually explicit material, despite long standing precedent opposing overly burdensome requirements on adults, including electronic age checks.

A decision is expected by the end of June.

“It’s going to be a massive amount of monetary loss, and I think you’re going to see an explosion of illegal, unethical porn because they don’t care and they won’t comply,” said DeVille. “I do not care what you think about porn. This should terrify you because this is a massive government overstep in one of our most cherished things in the United States.”

To Hawkins, a favorable decision would be a sigh of relief.

“The burden can’t only be on parents,” she said of the need to keep children away from pornography. “Something like demanding age verification on these nefarious websites is such a simple, commonsense measure that that would drastically help protect kids from exposure.”

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Unexploded WWII bomb in Paris halts Eurostar travel to London and trains to northern France

Unexploded WWII bomb in Paris halts Eurostar travel to London and trains to northern France
Unexploded WWII bomb in Paris halts Eurostar travel to London and trains to northern France
James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images

(PARIS) — Eurostar trains to London, including all trains heading to northern France, stopped abruptly on Friday morning after an unexploded bomb dating back to World War II was discovered near the tracks, officials said.

The unexploded ordinance was discovered approximately 1.5 miles north of Gare du Nord in Saint Denis, an area just north of Paris where the Stade de France – the national stadium of France – is located and where dozens of Olympic events were held, including the closing ceremonies, last year.

“Traffic is interrupted between Paris Gare du Nord and La Plaine Stade France in both directions and disrupted on the rest of the line. Traffic will not resume until mid-afternoon, after formal authorization from the authorities,” France’s national train operator SNCF said in a statement on Friday morning. “If possible, we invite you to postpone your trip.”

The reason listed was due to “intervention by law enforcement” following the discovery of an unexploded bomb from the second World War near the tracks at Paris Nord, SNCF said.

Gare Du Nord in Paris is the busiest railway station in Europe by passenger numbers and served over 211 million people alone in 2022.

Dozens of passengers could be seen waiting in the station with their luggage as they watched trains being canceled across the passenger information boards.

It is unclear how large the ordinance is or how long it will take authorities to clear the area before regular services resumes.

The investigation is currently ongoing.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Morgan Winsor and Tom Soufi-Burridge contributed to this report.

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Russia conducts another massive aerial attack on Ukraine overnight

Russia conducts another massive aerial attack on Ukraine overnight
Russia conducts another massive aerial attack on Ukraine overnight
Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images

(KYIV, Ukraine) — Russia has carried out a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight, targeting energy and gas infrastructure in various regions, Ukrainian officials said Friday morning.

A total of 261 missiles and drones were launched by Russia, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which said it used Mirage-2000 fighter jets for the first time alongside F-16s to repel the attack.

The latest attack is one of the largest air attacks of the war to date as Russia, in recent months, has dramatically increased the number of drones it can launch every night against Ukrainian cities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there can be “no pause” in pressure on Russia earlier this week just the day after the U.S. confirmed it had stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv.

President Donald Trump’s decision to pause all U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing has raised concerns that Ukraine’s air defenses will become less effective in the days, weeks and months to come.

The pause followed last week’s explosive Oval Office meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump. White House officials have suggested the freeze may be lifted if Ukraine takes concrete steps towards a peace deal with Russia to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion.

It now appears likely that Russia will try to increase these attacks at a critical time as the end of U.S. intelligence sharing and supplies of anti-aircraft missiles could weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend against them.

Russian missiles and drone attacks are a nightly occurrence in Ukraine. The country has become largely reliant on Western anti-air weapons to defeat incoming projectiles.

U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine had allowed Kyiv to give warnings to targeted areas ahead of Russian drone and missile strikes, tracking Russian aircraft taking off, drones being launched and missiles being fired.

A Ukrainian intelligence official told ABC News on Wednesday that the intelligence sharing pause included a halt in sharing U.S. satellite imagery through the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Trump has repeatedly — and falsely — blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia while seeking to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as president. The White House is pushing Kyiv to accept a deal to end the fighting and to sign an agreement giving the U.S. access to Ukrainian mineral resources.

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Fresh jobs report to offer snapshot of US economy under Trump

US hiring falls short of expectations in 1st full month of Trump term
US hiring falls short of expectations in 1st full month of Trump term
Win McNamee/Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — A fresh jobs report to be released on Friday will offer a snapshot of U.S. economic performance over the first full month under President Donald Trump.

Economists expect employers to have hired 170,000 workers in February. That figure would mark a slight uptick from 143,000 jobs added in January, and it would nearly match the average number of jobs added each month last year.

The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4%, a historically low reading.

The data release is set to coincide with a turbulent period for U.S. stocks and trade relations in the aftermath of tariffs issued by the Trump administration earlier this week.

Despite the temporary withdrawal of some tariffs on Thursday, stocks dropped as fallout from the policy continued to roil markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled about 425 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 fell 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 2.6%.

The tariffs stand among a flurry of economy-related directives issued since Trump took office, including spending cuts and an assault on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The Trump administration has also terminated tens of thousands of federal employees, though such cuts are not expected to appear in the February report, in part due to the timing of surveys conducted by officials who collect the data.

Meanwhile, the economy is weathering a bout of resurgent inflation that stretches back to the final months of the Biden administration.

Consumer prices rose 3% in January compared to a year ago, registering a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%.

Egg prices, a closely watched symbol of rising costs, soared 53% in January compared to a year ago. BIrd flu has decimated the egg supply, lifting prices higher.

In February, a key gauge of consumer confidence registered its largest monthly drop since August 2021, the nonpartisan Conference Board said last month.

The share of consumers who expect a recession within the next year surged to a nine-month high, the data showed. A growing portion of consumers believe the job market will worsen, the stock market will fall and interest rates will rise, the report added.

Still, some measures of consumer sentiment improved. Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions moved higher, while an uptick in purchasing plans for a home extended a monthslong recovery.

Mortgage rates have dropped for seven consecutive weeks, FreddieMac data showed. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.63%, its lowest level since December.

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Anti-scam advocates want Starlink’s help fighting ‘scam compounds’ in Asia and beyond

Anti-scam advocates want Starlink’s help fighting ‘scam compounds’ in Asia and beyond
Anti-scam advocates want Starlink’s help fighting ‘scam compounds’ in Asia and beyond
John Keeble/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Last July, a prosecutor in California sent a letter to Elon Musk’s SpaceX with an urgent message: The company’s internet satellite dishes are being used by criminal organizations in so-called “scam compounds” across Southeast Asia.

Starlink, which was developed by SpaceX in 2019, provides internet to remote locations, and the company’s satellite systems have been used in war-torn Ukraine, in hospitals in Gaza, and in areas affected by hurricanes.

But over the last several years, according to international officials and intergovernmental organizations, authorities have found Starlink satellite dishes being used in criminally run scam centers, where users perpetrate illegal online schemes to defraud people.

Anti-scam advocates like Erin West, the former deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County, California, have been increasingly calling on companies with links to scam centers to help them locate and dismantle the criminal groups that run scam compounds.

“The thing about Starlink is, it is a satellite, it’s covering specific areas,” said West, who sent the letter to Starlink. “And when we can point out that some of those locations are known scam centers, then I want Starlink to turn off the service.”

West and the Santa Clara DA’s office told ABC News that SpaceX never responded to their letter.

ABC News has previously reported on the growing rise of scam compounds in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America, where hundreds of thousands of people are reported to be trafficked and forced to target people in the U.S. and Europe.

According to the FBI, victims of cryptocurrency scams linked to the compounds reported $3.9 billion in estimated losses in 2023.

A report published by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime in October found that Chinese organized crime groups have found ways around “existing security protocols in order to access the remote high-speed internet connectivity made possible” by Starlink’s technology.

“Several recent incidents relating to the use of false base stations and Starlink satellite dishes have been reported by law enforcement authorities in Mekong countries over past years,” the report said.

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

According to officials and the UNODC, online vendors are selling Starlink devices to cyber-enabled fraud operations in remote areas where scam compounds are located.

“In the future, Starlink will reach a transmission capacity of 200G! Come and enjoy a set of Starlink equipment exclusive to you,” said an advertisement posted last week on a Telegram chat that ABC News reviewed.

Benedikt Hofmann, the Deputy Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific for UNODC, who reviewed the Telegram chat, said there are many vendors specifically advertising Starlink access as a “solution for online scam operators” on Telegram-based markets.

Anti-scam groups and intergovernmental organizations have been looking into the Telegram chats as part of their effort to locate and dismantle the scam compounds.

The use of Starlink satellite devices by criminal organizations was first reported by Wired.

Hofmann told ABC News that “Starlink is a growing concern.”

“We’ve seen increasing cases of devices being seized en route to Myanmar, usually coming from other parts of the region where they can be legally purchased,” Hofmann said. “There is a clear link to the scam industry.”

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