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In the news today: U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order targeting Smithsonian funding for programs with “improper ideology”; Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Trump’s push for control over Greenland is rooted in history; and new research shows how the Earth's water storage is dwindling. Also, one of TV’s “Golden Girls,” Betty White, gets her own postage stamp.

A ribbon cutting ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery for a life-size painting of President Abraham Lincoln by artist W.F.K. Travers, Feb. 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

POLITICS

Trump’s executive order on Smithsonian targets funding for programs with ‘improper ideology’

President Donald Trump on Thursday revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targets funding for programs that advance “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology,” the latest step in a broadside against culture he deems too liberal. Read more.

Why this matters:

• The order, signed behind closed doors, puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution.
  
  

• The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex. It consists of 21 museums and the National Zoo. Trump singled out for criticism the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Women’s History Museum, which is in development, and the American Art Museum. 

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Trump withdraws Rep. Elise Stefanik’s nomination for UN ambassador
  
  

• Judge orders government to preserve Signal messages about Houthi military strike

   

• Trump signs executive order to end collective bargaining at agencies involved with national security
  
  

• At a glance: Who has been detained or deported in US crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters
  
  

• Appeals court refuses to halt an order for the rehiring of thousands of fired federal workers
  
  

• A federal judge temporarily blocks parts of Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders
  
  

• Another federal judge blocks Trump policy banning transgender troops in the military

   

• EPA offers industrial polluters a way to avoid rules on mercury, arsenic and other toxic chemicals

   

• WATCH: Musk says Social Security recipients will get more benefits, not less, due to DOGE

   

• The fate of addiction treatment hangs in the balance with Kennedy’s HHS overhaul

   

• Stanford, Cal and UCLA investigated in Trump’s anti-DEI campaign

   

• Maine school officials won’t comply with Trump administration agreement to bar transgender athletes

   

• NY county clerk refuses to file Texas’ fine for doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills
  
  

• U.S. economy grew 2.4% in the 4th quarter after upgrade in final growth estimate

   

• Arthur Laffer, noted economist honored by Trump, warns that 25% tariffs risk ‘irreparable damage’ to US automakers

   

• Fewer Americans now see Canada as a US ally as Trump strains a longtime partnership

   

• ‘The floodgates have really opened’: Democrats raise millions in special House elections in Florida
  
  

• Los Angeles sheriff’s department to retest 4,000 DNA samples after using faulty kits for 8 months
  
  
• Louisiana voters to decide on constitutional amendments for crime, courts and finances

WORLD NEWS

Putin says US push for Greenland is rooted in history, vows to uphold Russian interest in the Arctic

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s push for control over Greenland wasn’t surprising given longtime U.S. interest in the mineral-rich territory. Speaking at a policy forum in the Arctic port of Murmansk, Putin noted that the United States first considered plans to win control over Greenland in the 19th century, and then offered to buy it from Denmark after World War II. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Putin noted that Russia is worried about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region.
  
  

• Russia has sought to assert its influence over wide areas of the Arctic in competition with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway as shrinking polar ice from the warming planet offers new opportunities for resources and shipping routes. China has also shown an increasing interest in the region, believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Vance and wife to tour US military post in Greenland after diplomatic spat over uninvited visit
  
  
• Greenland lawmakers form a new government on the eve of Vance visit
  
  
• Putin suggests putting Ukraine under U.N.-sponsored external governance, boasts battlefield gains

CLIMATE

Earth’s storage of water in soil, lakes and rivers is dwindling. And it’s especially bad for farming

New research finds that global warming has significantly reduced the amount of water that’s being stored around the world in soil, lakes, rivers, snow and other places on land. The research, published Thursday in the journal Science, says the lost water has “potentially irreversible” impacts on agriculture and sea level rise. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Earth’s soil moisture dropped by over 2,000 gigatons in roughly the last 20 years, the study says. For context, that’s more than twice Greenland’s ice loss from 2002 to 2006, the researchers noted. Meanwhile, the frequency of once-in-a-decade agricultural and ecological droughts has increased, global sea levels have risen and the Earth’s pole has shifted.
  
  

• The study also confirms an explanation for a slight wobble in the rotation of the Earth — it’s being driven by the changing moisture levels of the planet.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• Arctic sea ice hits record low for its usual peak growth period
  
  
• From deluges to drought: Climate change speeds up water cycle, triggers more extreme weather
  
  

• Report highlights how communities hardest hit by climate change can build resilient water systems

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IN OTHER NEWS

READ

7.7 magnitude quake: Powerful earthquake rocks Thailand and Myanmar, killing at least 3 in Bangkok high-rise collapse

Easing tensions: Lebanon and Syria sign agreement on border demarcation

Philadelphia: Mixed verdict for 3 detectives in perjury trial involving a 2016 murder exoneration

Doors-off sightseeing flight: $90 million settlement ends lawsuit over a deadly 2018 New York helicopter crash

Julia Creek: A remote Australian town seeks a doctor, offering a $400,000 salary and free rent

Now streaming: ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ ‘A Complete Unknown’, and Will Smith

Today in History: In 1979, America’s worst commercial nuclear accident occurred at the Three Mile Island plant

WATCH

One Life Hack: How to block spam calls

U.S. Postal Service: Betty White celebrated at stamp ceremony in Los Angeles

A CHANGE OF PACE

Chicken vindaloo. (Milk Street via AP)

Blend your way to better chicken vindaloo
Vindaloo is an Indian dish notable for its vinegary tang, a generous dose of garlic, and the spiciness of dried chilies. To get a weeknight-friendly version of the curry, puree a host of spices in a blender, with fresh garlic and ginger, white vinegar, and a little brown sugar for a thick paste that is bright red and sweetly aromatic.

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