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In the news today: A federal judge ruled that the dismantling of USAID by the Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution; the Social Security Administration will require in-person identity checks for some recipients starting March 31; and Europe and Canada look for alternatives to American-made fighter jets. Also, NASA astronauts safely splashdown after 9 months in space.

USAID supporters hold banners as workers retrieve their belongings from the USAID's headquarters in Washington, Feb. 27. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

POLITICS

Judge rules DOGE’s USAID dismantling likely violates the Constitution

The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency likely violated the Constitution, a federal judge ruled Tuesday as he indefinitely blocked DOGE from making further cuts to the agency. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The order requires the Trump administration to restore email and computer access to all employees of USAID, including those put on administrative leave, though it stops short of reversing firings or fully resurrecting the agency.
  
  

• The lawsuit filed by USAID employees and contractors argued that Musk and DOGE are wielding power the Constitution reserves only for those who win elections or are confirmed by the Senate.
  
  

• In one of the first DOGE lawsuits against Musk himself, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland rejected the Trump administration’s position that Musk is merely President Donald Trump’s adviser. Musk’s public statements and social media posts demonstrate that he has “firm control over DOGE,” the judge found, pointing to an online post where Musk said he had “fed USAID into the wood chipper.”

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Federal judge blocks Trump administration from banning transgender people from military service

   

• Judge blocks Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in ‘green bank’ grants

   

• A look at the judge who blocked Trump’s deportations and is now facing calls for impeachment

   

• Immigrants disappear from US detainee tracking system after deportation flights

   

• Appeals court blocks Ohio’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors

   

• Trump fires 2 Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission, seeking more control over regulators

   

• IRS agents who investigated Hunter Biden given promotions at the Treasury Departmen
  
  

• Agent Orange cleanup and other efforts critical to ties with Vietnam jeopardized by USAID cuts
  
  

• EPA plans to cut scientific research program, could fire more than 1,000 employees

   

• Vance to serve as RNC’s finance chair in sign of his growing influence

   

• CBS’ ‘60 Minutes’ is unflinching in its White House coverage in the shadow of Trump’s $20B lawsuit
  
  

• Majority control of Pennsylvania House hinges on special election in steel region near Pittsburgh
  
  
• Alabama lawmakers approve a ban on devices that convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns
  
  
• JFK assassination files released, sending history buffs hunting for new clues

U.S. NEWS

Social Security Administration to require in-person identity checks for new and existing recipients

In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, the Social Security Administration will impose tighter identity-proofing measures. Millions of recipients and applicants will be required to visit agency field offices rather than interact with the agency over the phone. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Beginning March 31st, people will no longer be able to verify their identity to the SSA over the phone. Those who cannot properly verify their identity over the agency’s “my Social Security” online service will be required to visit an agency field office in person to complete the verification process, agency leadership told reporters Tuesday. 
  
  

• Retiree advocates warn that the change will negatively impact older Americans in rural areas, including those with disabilities, mobility limitations, those who live far from SSA offices and have limited internet access. More than 72.5 million people, including retirees and children, receive retirement and disability benefits through the Social Security Administration.
  
  

• The plan also comes as the agency plans to shutter dozens of Social Security offices throughout the country and has already set out plans to lay off thousands of workers. The DOGE website says that leases for 47 Social Security field offices across the country, including in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky and North Carolina, have been or will be ended.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Top House Democrats seek DOGE details, questioning if it operates ‘outside the bounds’ of US law
  
  
• Violent attacks on Tesla dealerships spike as Musk takes prominent role in Trump White House
  
  
• Rep. Mike Flood of Nebraska is the latest GOP member of Congress to face angry crowds back home

WORLD NEWS

Europe and Canada are eyeing alternatives to American-made fighter jets

Questions are mounting in Canada and in Europe over whether big-ticket purchases of high-end U.S. weaponry, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, are still a wise strategic choice for Western countries worried about their investment in U.S. defense technology. Read more.

Why this matters:

• In less than two months, U.S. President Donald Trump has upended decades of foreign policy. He has left NATO members questioning whether Washington will honor the trans-Atlantic alliance’s commitment to defend each other if other European countries are attacked by Russia.
  
  

• As Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on, it’s become clear that Eastern European NATO members still have vast stores of Soviet-era weapons in their stockpiles that weren’t interoperable with Western weaponry. Some NATO countries are now rethinking tying their defense to U.S.-made systems and potentially considering European jets.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Zelenskyy says Putin’s vow not to hit Ukraine’s energy infrastructure ‘at odds with reality’
  
  
• Crimea has been a battleground and a playground. Why it’s coveted by both Russia and Ukraine
  
  
• WATCH: White House press secretary says French should be ‘grateful’ to US they are ‘not speaking German’

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IN OTHER NEWS

READ

Middle East latest: Far-right party leader returns to Netanyahu’s Cabinet after strikes pummel Gaza
Istanbul mayor: Police arrest a key Erdogan rival over alleged corruption and terror links
Texas: Two men found guilty in smuggling conspiracy where 53 immigrants died in a hot tractor-trailer

‘Flawless’ execution: Louisiana puts man to death in state’s first nitrogen gas execution

Welfare overhaul: The UK is cutting welfare spending to urge people to work

61-1 vote: Mexico City bans violent bullfighting, sparking fury and celebration

Today in History: In 2003, US President George W. Bush announces the start of the Iraq invasion

WATCH

Splashdown: NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams return to Earth

New Mexico: Dust storms rage and transit authorities close major highways to avoid pileups

A CHANGE OF PACE

Libyan volunteers make traditional unleavened Libyan bread in Tajoura, Libya, March 11. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

A Libyan town comes together to make a beloved Ramadan dish
Every year during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a Libyan town comes together to prepare — and share — one of their all-time favorite dishes: bazin. In Tajoura, just east of Libya ’s capital of Tripoli, it’s the perfect food for iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break the dawn-to-dusk fast.

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