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Federal judge orders Trump administration to reinstate thousands of fired probationary employees across 18 agencies

March 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge temporarily paused the Trump administration’s “illegal” reductions in force and reinstated approximately 20,000 probationary government employees across 18 agencies who had been terminated.

U.S. District Judge James Bredar — an Obama appointee — concluded that the Trump administration failed to provide the legally required advanced notice before it tried to conduct “massive layoffs.” The judge also prohibited the Trump administration from conducting future mass firings without giving notice.

“When the federal government terminates large numbers of its employees, including those still on probation because they were recently hired or promoted, it must follow certain rules,” Bredar wrote.

The ruling applies to 18 of the federal agencies named as defendants in the case except for the Defense Department, the National Archives and the Office of Personnel Management.

The decision came in a case brought by 20 Democratic attorneys general who sued last week to block the firings and is separate from a California judge’s decision also dealing with probationary employees that was issued earlier Thursday.

Similar to the reasoning of the judge in the California case, Bredar wrote that he believes the government lied when it listed “performance” or other individualized reasons as justification for the layoffs.

“On the record before the Court, this isn’t true. There were no individualized assessments of employees. They were all just fired. Collectively,” he wrote. “It is simply not conceivable that the Government could have conducted individualized assessments of the relevant employees in the relevant timeframe.”

Bredar concluded that the states that sued are suffering irreparable harm by having to assist thousands of unemployed workers who were fired illegally.

“Lacking the notice to which they were entitled, the States weren’t ready for the impact of so many unemployed people,” he wrote. “They are still scrambling to catch up,” he wrote.

Bredar’s order will remain in place for two weeks, and he scheduled a hearing for March 26 to consider issuing a preliminary injunction, which is a longer-term measure.

Like the California case, Bredar did not rule that the Trump administration is not able to conduct mass firings; rather, the administration just needs to provide advanced notice when it conducts a reduction in force. While the order provides a reprieve for more than 20,000 government workers, the lifeline is temporary, even if the order is extended later this month.

The judge’s order came after a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Maryland.

The Democratic attorneys general argued that the Trump administration violated federal law with the firings by failing to give a required 60-day notice for a reduction in force, opting to pursue the terminations “suddenly and without any advance notice.”

Lawyers with the Department of Justice have argued that the states lack standing because they “cannot interject themselves into the employment relationship between the United States and government workers,” and that to grant the temporary restraining order would “circumvent” the administrative process for challenging the firings.

In separate earlier lawsuits, two other federal judges had declined to immediately block firings of federal employees or to reinstate them to their positions.

American Airlines flight catches fire at Denver airport

March 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(DENVER) — An American Airlines plane caught fire at Denver International Airport in Colorado on Thursday, sending passengers down emergency slides and onto the wing of the aircraft. Twelve were people being taken to the hospital with minor injuries, airport officials said.

The Boeing 737-800 plane was diverted to Denver shortly after departing from Colorado Springs, Colorado. While the plane was taxiing to the gate, the engine caught fire, and its passengers evacuated.

The incident, which sent smoke billowing across the tarmac, took place at approximately 5:15 p.m., local time.

There were 172 passengers and six crew members aboard AA Flight 1006.

All passengers were able to exit the plane.

American Airlines told ABC News that passengers evacuated the plane through emergency slides, the overwing exit and some onto the jet bridge.

A statement from Denver International Airport said 12 people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

The plane was traveling from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Dallas, Texas, when it was diverted to Denver after the “crew reported engine vibrations,” according to the Federal Aviation Authority.

The plane diverted after about 20 minutes into the flight and was in the air for about an hour before it landed.

In an earlier statement to ABC News, American Airlines said, “We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority.”

The airline also said that it was arranging for a replacement aircraft to take passengers the rest of the way to the intended destination, Dallas Fort-Worth.

The FAA is investigating the incident.

Alaska’s Mount Spurr getting even closer to eruption as unrest escalates, volcanologists say

March 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Alaska’s Mount Spurr, an active volcano near the most populated region in the state, is getting even closer to an eruption, according to volcanologists.

Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory measured “significantly elevated” emissions of volcanic gas coming from Mount Spurr, located in the Aleutian Arc in southern Alaska about 75 miles west of Anchorage, according to a statement released Wednesday.

In addition, elevated earthquake activity, ground deformations and newly activated fumaroles — or gas vents — at the volcano’s Crater Peak have been recorded, indicating that the probability of eruption has increased, researchers at the observatory said.

Small earthquakes have been occurring above ground at Mount Spurr since April, Matthew Haney, scientist in charge of the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage, told ABC News last month.

An overflight on March 7 measured about 450 metric tons per day of sulfur dioxide from Mount Spurr’s summit vent — an increase from less than 50 metric tons in December, according to the observatory.

Over the last month, more than 100 earthquakes per week have been occurring at the site as well. Ground deformation and collapse of snow and ice into the summit crater lake that formed during the unrest also continues, scientists said.

An increase in gas emissions confirms that new magma has entered the Earth’s crust beneath the volcano, indicating that an eruption is likely in the next weeks or months, according to the observatory.

While an eruption is “not certain,” it is the most likely outcome of the current unrest, according to the observatory. If the magma stalls and does not reach the surface, the unrest could instead decrease over the next weeks and months, similar to events from 2004 to 2006, researchers said.

Eruptions that occurred in 1953 and 1992 were explosive — lasting a few hours and producing ash clouds that were carried downwind for hundreds of miles, according to the observatory. The August 1992 eruption caused the Anchorage airport to close for 20 hours due to the wind and ash event that accompanied the eruption.

There is little geological evidence to suggest other past eruptions in the last 5,000 years, according to the observatory.

The volcano alert level for Mount Spurr as of Thursday was at “yellow” or “advisory,” indicating that the volcano is exhibiting signs of elevated unrest above known background level

Mount Spurr is monitored constantly due to its proximity to Anchorage, the most populated city in Alaska, Haney said. There are 11 remote seismic stations situated around Mount Spurr.

Primary hazards to south-central Alaska communities during eruptions at Mount Spurr include far-traveled airborne ash clouds and ashfall, according to the observatory.

Volcanologists will be monitoring for further increases in seismic activity, gas emissions and surface heating to indicate that an eruption is imminent, according to the observatory. The detection of volcanic tremor — a continuous shaking that can last for several minutes rather than short, small earthquakes — would like prompt the level to raise, Haney said.

Should monitoring data suggest that an eruption is likely within hours or days, the observatory will raise its alert level to orange or red.

6 American prisoners in Kuwait released, land back in US, representative says

March 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Six Americans who were imprisoned in Kuwait have been released in an agreement with the United States, a representative for their families confirmed to ABC News.

The Americans, many of whom are veterans and former military contractors, were convicted on drug charges, Jonathan Franks, a crisis management consultant, said.

For years, however, the prisoners have “vigorously” maintained their innocence, Franks said.

Several more prisoners are expected to be freed in the coming weeks as part of the agreement, Franks added.

“This morning, the Kuwaiti government released six of my clients as part of an agreement that will ultimately free fifteen of my clients in short order. Each was convicted on drug charges, and each vigorously maintains their innocence,” Franks said.

Convictions for possession of drugs in Kuwait may include long jail sentences or the death penalty, according to an advisory by the U.S. State Department.

According to the U.S. Embassy of Kuwait website, American citizens are subject to Kuwait’s laws and regulations. Those laws can “differ significantly from those in the United States,” and the U.S. government may only be able to offer limited assistance to those charged, the website says.

Kuwait is a small Middle Eastern country borders Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The prisoners’ release comes amid President Donald Trump’s emphasis on freeing Americans held abroad.

“President Trump has made it a priority to bring home Americans detained overseas. We are pleased that Kuwait released Americans from prison,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News.

“Kuwait is a vital ally in the region, and we look forward to continuing to work with Kuwait and other partners in these efforts across the world,” the spokesperson added.

In February, three prisoners, including an unnamed American and a journalist dubbed a political prisoner, were released from Belarus.

What happens to Social Security, TSA and other programs if the federal government shuts down?

March 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As Republicans brand the impending lapse in government funding the “Schumer Shutdown,” hundreds of thousands of federal workers are on edge as the Senate struggles to reach a deal ahead of Friday night’s looming deadline.

If a deal is not reached by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 14, federal workers could get furloughed without pay, though many will still be required to show up to work. Federal contractors are not required to work but are also not guaranteed backpay for the duration of a shutdown.

While the House voted on Tuesday to avert a shutdown, the bill passed was a unilateral GOP-led bill, with no Democratic support. The bill would need 60 votes to pass in the Senate, but with no Democratic input in the bill, it is unclear if there are enough votes to surpass the filibuster threshold.

“Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path drafting their continuing resolution without any input any input from congressional Democrats,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor on Wednesday.

Still, President Donald Trump placed blame on Democrats Thursday morning, saying, “If it closes, it’s purely on the Democrats.”

“If there’s a shutdown, even the Democrats admit it will be their fault,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “And I’m hearing a lot of Democrats are going to vote for it, and I hope they do.”

Democrats were tight-lipped after leaving their weekly caucus lunch Thursday afternoon.

The shutdown would be the 21st federal government shutdown in U.S. history.

The federal workforce has experienced massive cuts since President Donald Trump took office in January and tapped billionaire Elon Musk to slash agencies and employees via the Department of Government Efficiency, which has caused thousands of workers to be laid off already.

With recent DOGE cuts causing layoffs across the federal workforce and among government contractors, it is unclear exactly how many people could be affected.

In the absence of guidance from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, it is unclear what parts of the government would close in the event of a shutdown.

While the OMB has typically notified federal workers ahead of the funding deadline, it removed previous, Biden-era guidance on shutdown plans from its website. The last time the United States faced a government shutdown threat was in December 2024, but members of Congress passed a stopgap bill to fund the government through March 14.

An OMB spokesperson has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

The good news is that because the deadline falls on a weekend, Congress has a couple extra days to strike a deal before most federal workers would be expected back at their desks.

Given the shutdown would begin on a Saturday, many would not really feel the impacts of a shutdown until Monday — or even later, when the next payroll is disbursed.

Some ‘mandatory’ programs will continue

Because payments from Social Security and Medicare are considered “mandatory” spending, they will continue to reach mailboxes, although agencies warn services could slow down.

The U.S. Postal Service, which uses its own revenue stream, won’t be affected either.

How could the military be affected?

About 1.3 million active-duty service members would still be required to work — but without pay until a funding agreement is passed. Typically, half of the 700,000 civilians in the Department of Defense workforce would also be required to work without pay, though by law, all civilians will be paid retroactively.

Generally, military contractors are not required to work and lose paychecks for the duration of the shutdown. However, those who already have had their contracts paid out by the Pentagon would continue to be paid.

Airport wait times could slow

The Transportation Security Administration has not formally weighed in on a shutdown, but if funding does run out for an extended period, wait times at airports could be longer.

The shutdown would come as 173 million people in the U.S. are expected to fly in March and April as spring break travel ramps up and could lead to longer than usual wait times.

There could also be an impact on hiring air traffic controllers.

Impact on Washington, D.C., national parks, and other services

By next week, trash could be piling up along the National Mall outside the White House as janitors working under contract are let go from the hourly jobs.

The Smithsonian Institution’s museums could also be affected, though it has not released whether it will close its museums if the government shuts down. Ahead of a possible shutdown in December, the Smithsonian Institution said it would keep its 21 museums and the National Zoological Park open until funding ran out, which was days after a shutdown deadline.

Typically, the National Park Service will release guidance ahead of a government shutdown but has not as of Thursday. In the past, if there is a funding lapse, all national parks have closed, and visitors should expect some services to be unavailable starting Monday, March 17.

ABC News’ Molly Nagle, Luis Martinez and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.

SpaceX says hydraulic issue that postponed Starliner mission fixed, clear for launch

March 14, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — SpaceX said that the hydraulic system issue that postponed the Starliner mission on Wednesday has now been fixed and that the crew is once again cleared for take-off on Friday.

The mission will bring the next crew up to work on the International Space Station (ISS) and begin the return of a pair of astronauts back to Earth.

The launch Wednesday was abruptly postponed less than 45 minutes before liftoff due to a problem with a ground support clamp arm on the Falcon 9 rocket.

The clamps hold the rocket on the pad and if they don’t open evenly, could cause the rocket to tip slightly.

NASA’s Ken Bowersox told ABC News that while in this instance, the teams thought there was a low probability of a serious failure, they ultimately decided to not take any chances at all.

As of Thursday evening, SpaceX said ground teams have resolved the issue and successfully flushed a suspected pocket of trapped air in the system.

SpaceX said it’s now targeting a launch on Friday at 7:03 p.m. ET. The company predicts a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch attempt.

Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams have been in space since June 2024 after they performed the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner. When they launched, they were only supposed to be on the ISS for about a week.

However, NASA and Boeing officials decided to send the uncrewed Starliner back to Earth in September after several issues and keep Wilmore and Williams onboard until early 2025 when Crew-10 was ready to launch on the Dragon spacecraft. Wilmore and Williams are set to return in the Crew-9 capsule.

The pair integrated with the ongoing Crew-9 mission aboard the ISS and could not return to Earth until Crew-9 completed its six-month mission and were replaced by Crew-10.

Wilmore and Williams assisted the crew with research and other responsibilities. However, NASA officials said the pair were using up more supplies meant for the ISS crew.

Steve Stich, program manager for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said that NASA teams spent all summer looking over the data on Starliner and felt there was too much risk with regard to the vehicle’s thrusters.

During a press conference in September, Wilmore said he and Williams did not feel let down by anything during the mission.

“Let down? Absolutely not,” Wilmore said. “It’s never entered my mind. It’s a fair question. I can tell you, I thought a lot about this press conference … and what I wanted to say and convey.”

“NASA does a great job of making a lot of things look easy,” he said, adding, “That’s just the way it goes. sometimes because we are pushing the edges of the envelope in everything that we do.”

If the mission is successful, it’s unclear when exactly Wilmore and Williams will return to Earth on Crew-9.

The crew consists of two NASA astronauts, an astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and an astronaut from Russia’s Roscosmos.

SpaceX will share a live webcast of the mission beginning one hour and 20 minutes prior to liftoff on its website and on its X account. NASA will also air coverage on its X account.

“During their time on the orbiting laboratory, the crew will conduct new research to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit humanity on Earth,” SpaceX said on its website.

SpaceX’s contracted missions are part of the larger Commercial Crew Program at NASA, which are certified to perform routine missions to and from the ISS.

‘Highly unusual’: White House halts FBI background checks for senior staff, shifts them to Pentagon: Sources

March 13, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The White House has quietly directed the FBI to halt the background check process for dozens of President Donald Trump’s top staffers, and has transferred the process to the Pentagon, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

The directive came last month after agents tasked with completing the background investigations had conducted interviews with a handful of top White House aides — a standard part of the background check process.

White House officials took the unusual step of ordering a stop to the background check investigations after they deemed the process too intrusive, sources said.

The procedure typically involves extensive interviews as well as a review of financial records, foreign contacts, past employment, and any potential security risks.

The White House instead decided to transfer the background check process for White House personnel to the Department of Defense for them to complete the checks, the sources said.

A former FBI official told ABC News the approach was “highly unusual.”

“If any of this is true, and if you apply it to whatever has been historically in the remit of the FBI, then it would be breaking that historic, long-standing precedent, and highly unusual,” a former FBI official told ABC News. “It would be highly unusual if that was taken away from the FBI now, for whatever reason, and given over to the DOD or another agency.”

Newly installed FBI Director Kash Patel told ABC News in a statement, “The FBI is relentlessly focused on our mission to rebuild trust, restore law and order and let good agents be good agents — and we have full confidence DOD can address any needs in the clearance process.”

Pentagon representatives referred questions on the matter to the White House.

The background check process was halted just days before Patel was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 20, the sources said. The FBI is still conducting background investigations for positions requiring Senate confirmation, said the sources.

The Pentagon’s Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) carries out the bulk of background investigations for the federal government. The FBI carries out investigations for presidential appointees that require Senate confirmation as well as some other presidential appointees, including White House staff.

Historically, administrations have relied on the FBI background check process to ensure that the personnel they are hiring meet stringent ethical standards and don’t risk compromising national security.

“Background investigations for national security positions are conducted to gather information to determine whether you are reliable, trustworthy, of good conduct and character, and loyal to the U.S.,” states the SF-86 form filled out by federal employees seeking security clearances and used for background investigations.

However Trump and many of his allies entered the White House with a bitter distrust of the bureau over what they argued was its “weaponization” through the prosecutions brought against him by former special counsel Jack Smith. His top political appointees in the opening month of the administration quickly moved to purge senior ranks of the FBI and DOJ from anyone tied to the Smith prosecutions and those they believed wouldn’t be politically loyal to Trump.

Among Trump’s first presidential actions was issuing a memorandum granting the highest level of security clearance to top White House officials who had not been fully vetted through the background check process.

That list of officials, while not publicly disclosed, included dozens of high-level White House staffers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

In that memorandum, Trump claimed there was a “backlog” in the security clearance process — an issue he blamed on President Joe Biden’s administration.

However, Trump’s transition team had refused for months to enter into an agreement with the Department of Justice under Biden to begin the background check process for individuals who would staff Trump’s incoming administration, which has contributed in part to the staffing issues they now face.

Republicans use legislative sneak play to tie Democrats’ hands on tariffs

March 13, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — In a sneaky legislative maneuver tied into the effort to pass a funding bill and avert a government shutdown, House Republicans earlier this week successfully blocked Democrats from forcing votes and debate on President Donald Trump’s controversial tariffs.

It was a somewhat complicated move. But it worked — and demonstrated that Republicans are attempting to give cover to Trump and his implementation of sweeping tariffs on top U.S. trading partners that have roiled the stock market and stoked diplomatic tensions.

Had Democrats forced a vote and debate on the tariffs, it could have forced Republicans to go on the record on Trump’s tariff agenda — perhaps splitting with the president’s actions.

To tee up Speaker Mike Johnson’s temporary government funding bill, which the House passed Tuesday evening, the House first needed to pass what’s known as “a rule.” Buried inside the text of that rule was legislative language that prevents Democrats from forcing a potentially politically painful vote to end Trump’s tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

How could Democrats compel a vote to end the tariffs?

Trump imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China by declaring illegal migration and fentanyl constituted a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the National Emergencies Act.

But, here’s the catch: under the NEA, Congress has the authority to move quickly to terminate that emergency declaration. Top House Democrats tried to do that last week.

But inside that rule, which passed along party lines and cleared the way for a vote on the House GOP’s stopgap funding bill, was a provision prohibiting lawmakers from forcing a vote to terminate the president’s border emergency and the resulting tariffs until at least January 2026.

The section reads, “Each day for the remainder of the first session of the 119th Congress shall not constitute a calendar day for purposes of section 202 of the National Emergencies Act with respect to a joint resolution terminating a national emergency declared by the President on February 1, 2025.”

Democrats are blasting the move.

“Guess what they tucked into this rule, hoping nobody would notice? They slipped in a little clause letting them escape ever having to debate or vote on Trump’s tariffs. Isn’t that clever?” Rep. Jim McGovern, the ranking member on the House Rules Committee, said during floor debate Tuesday.

Congress could still approve a joint resolution to terminate the president’s national emergency. That would require the support of both rank-and-file GOP lawmakers and House Republican leadership, which is unlikely.

Democratic Rep. Don Beyer blasted the maneuver on “ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis” Tuesday.

Asked about the Republicans’ move and if Democrats have any way around it, Beyer said “not really,” calling it “tragic.”

“Once again, Trump has ignored existing law and the Constitution with all the tariffs he’s been announcing in recent weeks,” Beyer said. “He inherited on Jan. 20 the strongest economy this country has ever had. And we are rapidly heading towards recession right now just because of the extraordinary uncertainty in business decisions and capital investment and hiring decisions.”

Tornadoes, flash flooding, damaging winds headed to Midwest, South, East Coast

March 13, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A multiday severe weather outbreak is set to bring tornadoes, flash flooding and damaging winds from the Midwest to the South and the East Coast.

The severe weather begins in the Midwest on Friday night. Residents from Peoria, Illinois, to St. Louis, Missouri, to Paducah, Kentucky are in the bull’s-eye for damaging winds and potential tornadoes. This region is labeled level 4 out 5 for severe weather.

On Saturday afternoon and evening, the highest threat for tornadoes moves to the Deep South, focusing on Mississippi and Alabama.

A level 4 out 5 severe risk is in effect for New Orleans; Jackson, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and Birmingham, Alabama, where strong/significant tornadoes and destructive winds are expected.

A level 3 out of 5 severe risk has been issued from Nashville, Tennessee, to Atlanta to the Florida Panhandle.

Severe storms could even stretch as far north as the Ohio Valley on Saturday.

On Sunday, the severe storms will be weaker as they target the East Coast from Florida to Pennsylvania.

Damaging winds, large hail and brief tornadoes will be possible for the Southeast on Sunday afternoon, while heavy rain and damaging winds will hit the Northeast on Sunday night.

Trump expected to invoke wartime Alien Enemies Act to carry out mass deportations: Sources

March 13, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — As early as Friday, President Donald Trump is expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act — a wartime law that allows the president to detain or deport the natives and citizens of an enemy nation — as part of the efforts to carry out mass deportations, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

The Department of Defense is not expected to have a role in the invoking of the authority, which could be used to deport some migrants without a hearing

There have been discussions inside the administration about invoking the act, multiple sources said.

Trump had previously said on the campaign trail that he planned to invoke the act.

The act hasn’t been used since World War II, when it was used to detain Japanese Americans.

During World War II, the Alien Enemies Act was partially used to justify the internment of Japanese immigrants who had not become U.S. citizens. The broader internment of Japanese-Americans was carried out under executive orders signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and not the Alien Enemies Act since the law does not apply to U.S. citizens.

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