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In the news today: Donald Trump is offering federal workers buyouts; three nations leave West Africa’s top political bloc; and America’s children are losing ground in reading skills. Also, how the barn owl has become an unlikely symbol of cooperation between Arab and Israeli scientists.

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President Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on Monday. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

POLITICS

Trump is offering buyouts to all federal employees

The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is offering buyouts to all federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by next week — an unprecedented move to shrink the U.S. government at breakneck speed. Read more.

Why this matters:

• A memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources agency, also said it would begin subjecting all federal employees to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” and warned of future downsizing. The email sent to millions of employees said those who voluntarily leave their posts by Feb. 6 will receive about eight months of salary.
  
  

• Katie Miller, who serves on an advisory board to the Department of Government Efficiency, a special Trump administration department headed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and tasked with shrinking the size of government, posted on X, “This email is being sent to more than TWO MILLION federal employees.”
  
  

• American Federation of Government Employees union President Everett Kelley said it should not be viewed as voluntary buyouts, but pressuring workers not considered loyal to the new administration to vacate their jobs.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans

   

• Head Start and Medicaid providers hit glitches as Trump freezes federal money
  
  

• Defense secretary pulls Trump critic Gen. Milley's security clearance and protective detail
  
  

• Trump order aims to end federal support for gender transitions for those under 19
  
  

• Trump fires two Democratic commissioners of agency that enforces civil rights workplace laws
  
  

• Sean Duffy is confirmed by the Senate to lead the Transportation Department
  
  

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing to be health secretary: Five things to look for
  
  

• Tulsi Gabbard's meeting with Assad is at the center of lawmakers' questions
  
  

• Trump’s nominee for Pentagon weapons buyer was a key figure in the president’s first impeachment
  
  

• WATCH: Trump adds briefing room seats for ‘new media voices’ and addresses NJ drones
  
  

• Migrants describe deportation flights aboard US military planes
  
  

• Florida lawmakers pass sweeping immigration bill

   

• Trump-endorsed candidates win primary races to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
  
  

• California water regulators deny Trump’s claim that US military ‘turned on the water’ in the state
  
  
• Elon Musk’s X partners with Visa on payment service in an effort to become an ‘everything app’

WORLD NEWS

3 coup-hit West African nations formally leave ECOWAS regional bloc

The junta-led West African nations of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have formally withdrawn from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS, the body said Wednesday, the culmination of a yearlong process during which the group tried to avert an unprecedented disintegration. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Widely seen as West Africa’s top political and regional authority, the 15-nation ECOWAS was formed in 1975 to “promote economic integration” among member states. It has struggled in recent years to reverse rampant coups in the region where citizens have complained of not benefitting from rich natural resources.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• M23 rebels expand their control in east Congo
  
  
• West Africa's junta-led nations announce deployment of a joint force
  
  
• They fled from extremists. Now the government in Burkina Faso tries to hide their existence

EDUCATION

US children fall further behind in reading, make little improvement in math on national exam

America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nation’s report card. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the U.S. school system. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The findings are yet another setback for U.S. schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism.
  
  

• Especially alarming to officials was the divide between higher- and lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• US education agency investigating Denver schools over all-gender bathroom
  
  
• Free speech organizations denounce Education Department’s calling book bans a ‘hoax’
  
  
• Kentucky students challenging whether the state is meeting its constitutional duty on education

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IN OTHER NEWS

READ

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‘Inflight malfunction’: Pilot safe after F-35 military jet suffers ‘significant damage’ in Alaska

2023 train derailment: Norfolk Southern and East Palestine announce $22 million settlement

Los Angeles fires: Emergency alert systems lagged when residents needed them most

Louvre renovation: ‘Mona Lisa’ will get its own room

Today in History: In 1891, Lili‘uokalani was sworn in as Hawaiian queen

WATCH

176 safely evacuated: Plane catches fire at South Korean airport

Missing driver: Sinkhole swallows truck near Tokyo, Japan

Carmel Bay: Drone footage captures ‘super pod’ of dolphins

Year of the Snake: Lunar New Year celebrated

A CHANGE OF PACE

A barn owl rests on an electric scale at the Attica Zoological Park, near Athens, on Jan. 21. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stravrakis)

The barn owls bringing Arab and Israeli scientists together
It soars over the borders and divisions of the war-torn Middle East, bringing Arab and Israeli academics together. An unlikely symbol of cooperation, the barn owl is now getting global attention.

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