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By Sarah Naffa

April 21, 2025

In the news today: A federal judge has granted temporary relief to stop the Trump administration’s massive firings of federal workers; in an unprecedented show of security cooperation, Mexico sends 29 drug cartel figures to the United States; and a look at the measles situation worldwide. Also, how to stop unwanted phone calls.

Demonstrators protest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention layoffs in front of the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Feb. 18. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

POLITICS

Judge finds mass firings of federal probationary workers were likely unlawful

A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration’s massive dismantling of the federal workforce. Read more.

Why this matters:

U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the Office of Personnel Management to inform certain federal agencies that it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees, including at the Department of Defense.
Lawyers for the government agree that the office has no authority to hire or fire employees in other agencies. But they said the Office of Personnel Management asked agencies to review and determine whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment.
Attorneys for the coalition cheered the order, although it does not mean that fired employees will automatically be rehired or that future firings will not occur.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

WORLD NEWS

Mexico sends drug lord Caro Quintero and 28 others to the US as officials meet with Trump team

Mexico has sent 29 drug cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, to the United States as the Trump administration turns up the pressure on drug trafficking organizations. Read more.

Why this matters:

The unprecedented show of security cooperation comes as top Mexican officials are in Washington trying to head off the Trump administration’s threat of imposing 25% tariffs on all Mexican imports starting Tuesday.
Those sent to the U.S. Thursday were brought from prisons across Mexico. Among them were members of five of the six Mexican organized crime groups designated earlier this month by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
The decision also threatens to upend an unwritten understanding — with notable exceptions — that Mexican drug lords would serve sentences in Mexican prisons where they were often able to continue running their illicit businesses.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

HEALTH

The measles situation worldwide: Fewer vaccinations and more outbreaks

The U.S. registered its first death from measles since 2015 this week, as a child who wasn’t vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in Texas. Experts point to declining measles vaccination rates worldwide since the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

Why this matters:

Normally, most U.S. cases are brought into the country by people who have traveled overseas. So far, Texas officials have reported 124 cases. New Mexico has reported nine. In the United States, most states now are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

IN OTHER NEWS

READ

Questions remain: What to know about the lives and deaths of Hollywood icon Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa
COP16: UN talks end with nations backing $200 billion a year plan to protect nature

Greece: Violent protests in Athens on rail crash anniversary as frustration over system failures boils over

Rose Girone: The oldest living Holocaust survivor dies at 113

One Tech Tip: Getting a lot of unwanted phone calls? Here are ways to stop them

Now streaming: The Oscars with Conan O’Brien and Kate Hudson in ‘Running Point’

Today in History: In 2013, Benedict XVI resigned from the papacy

WATCH

Biden commutation: Leonard Peltier vows to continue fight for Native American rights after 49 years in prison

Aramaic speakers: Christian town in Syria keeps biblical language alive but fears for its future

Upstate New York: A dramatic rescue after a horse plunges through ice

A CHANGE OF PACE

People break their fasts at a restaurant near the historical Badshahi mosque, in Lahore, Pakistan, March 15, 2024. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

How to practice healthy fasting during Ramadan
Ramadan is about spiritual reflection and the value of having enough to eat. For about a month, many Muslims don’t eat or drink from dawn to sunset. This year, it’s set to begin this weekend. While it’s safe for most people to fast, planning and keeping nutrition in mind can make the month that much more meaningful, said Manal Elfakhani, a nutrition expert at Pennsylvania State University.

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