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Supreme Court clears the way for Trump’s federal workforce cuts

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs.

The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the cuts, which have been led by the Department of Government Efficiency.

The court said in an unsigned order that no specific cuts were in front of the justices, only an executive order issued by Trump and an administration directive for agencies to undertake job reductions.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenting vote, accusing her colleagues of a “demonstrated enthusiasm for greenlighting this President’s legally dubious actions in an emergency posture.”

Jackson warned of enormous real-world consequences. “This executive action promises mass employee terminations, widespread cancellation of federal programs and services, and the dismantling of much of the Federal Government as Congress has created it,” she wrote.

The high court action continued a remarkable winning streak for Trump, who the justices have allowed to move forward with significant parts of his plan to remake the federal government. The Supreme Court’s intervention so far has been on the frequent emergency appeals the Justice Department has filed objecting to lower-court rulings as improperly intruding on presidential authority.

The Republican president has repeatedly said voters gave him a mandate for the work, and he tapped billionaire ally Elon Musk to lead the charge through DOGE. Musk recently left his role.

“Today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling is another definitive victory for the President and his administration. It clearly rebukes the continued assaults on the President’s constitutionally authorized executive powers by leftist judges who are trying to prevent the President from achieving government efficiency across the federal government,” White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement.

Tens of thousands of federal workers have been fired, have left their jobs via deferred resignation programs or have been placed on leave. There is no official figure for the job cuts, but at least 75,000 federal employees took deferred resignation and thousands of probationary workers have already been let go.

In May, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston found that Trump’s administration needs congressional approval to make sizable reductions to the federal workforce. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to block Illston’s order, finding that the downsizing could have broader effects, including on the nation’s food-safety system and health care for veterans.

Illston directed numerous federal agencies to halt acting on the president’s workforce executive order signed in February and a subsequent memo issued by DOGE and the Office of Personnel Management. Illston was nominated by former Democratic President Bill Clinton.

The labor unions and nonprofit groups that sued over the downsizing offered the justices several examples of what would happen if it were allowed to take effect, including cuts of 40% to 50% at several agencies. Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco were among cities that also sued.

“Today’s decision has dealt a serious blow to our democracy and puts services that the American people rely on in grave jeopardy. This decision does not change the simple and clear fact that reorganizing government functions and laying off federal workers en masse haphazardly without any congressional approval is not allowed by our Constitution,” the parties that sued said in a joint statement.

Among the agencies affected by the order are the departments of Agriculture, Energy, Labor, the Interior, State, the Treasury and Veterans Affairs. It also applies to the National Science Foundation, Small Business Association, Social Security Administration and Environmental Protection Agency.

The case now continues in Illston’s court.





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Israel identifies body of hostage retrieved from Gaza

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Israel identified the body of hostage Idan Shtivi, recovered from the Gaza Strip in a military operation this week that retrieved the remains of two hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday.

Netanyahu’s office had announced on Friday the retrieval of Ilan Weiss’s body along with the remains of another hostage, whose identity is now known to be that of Shtivi but had not been disclosed at the time.

With Weiss and Shtivi‘s bodies recovered, Israel says 48 hostages remain in Gaza, of whom only 20 are believed to be alive.

“Idan Shtivi was abducted from the Tel Gama area and brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists after acting to rescue and evacuate others from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023. He was 28 years old at the time of his death,” the Israeli military said on Saturday in a statement.

Around 1,200 people were killed and about 251 taken hostage when the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israeli southern communities in October 2023, Israel’s tallies show.

Gaza’s health ministry says Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed over 63,000 Palestinians. The war has displaced nearly the enclave’s entire population, devastated infrastructure, and triggered a humanitarian crisis.



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Aid flotilla with Greta Thunberg set to sail for Gaza to ‘break illegal siege’ | Greta Thunberg

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A flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, is due to leave from Barcelona on Sunday to try to “break the illegal siege of Gaza”, organisers said.

The vessels will set off from the Spanish port city to “open a humanitarian corridor and end the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people”, said the Global Sumud Flotilla.

They did not say how many ships would set sail or the exact time of departure.

The flotilla is expected to arrive at the war-ravaged coastal enclave in mid-September.

“This will be the largest solidarity mission in history, with more people and more boats than all previous attempts combined,” Brazilian activist Thiago Ávila told journalists in Barcelona last week.

Organisers say that dozens of other vessels are expected to leave Tunisian and other Mediterranean ports on 4 September.

Activists will also stage simultaneous demonstrations and other protests in 44 countries “in solidarity with the Palestinian people”, Thunberg, who is part of the flotilla’s steering committee, wrote on Instagram.

As well as Thunberg, the flotilla will include activists from several countries, European lawmakers and public figures such as former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau.

“We understand that this is a legal mission under international law,” leftwing Portuguese lawmaker Mariana Mortágua, who will join the mission, told journalists in Lisbon last week.

Israel has already blocked two attempts by activists to deliver aid by ship to Gaza, in June and July.

In June, 12 activists on board the sailboat Madleen were intercepted by Israeli forces 185km west of Gaza. Its passengers, who included Thunberg, were detained and eventually expelled.

In July, 21 activists from 10 countries were intercepted as they tried to approach Gaza in another vessel, the Handala.



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No. 9 LSU outlasts No. 4 Clemson as Garrett Nussmeier outduels Cade Klubnik in top-10 showdown

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No. 9 LSU went on the road and shocked No. 4 Clemson 17-10 to pick up a crucial road victory and firmly cement its place in the national championship picture. The battle went down to the final minutes, but LSU coach Brian Kelly finally picked up his first season-opening victory as Tigers coach. 

Tied 10-10 at the start of the fourth quarter, LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier put together a legacy drive. After he was roughed on a completion to Aaron Anderson, Nussmeier ran for a third-down conversion and then found tight end Trey’Dez Green for an 8-yard touchdown to give LSU a lead it would never surrender. 

Clemson had three more chances to get back into the end zone, turning it over on downs once and going three-and-out to set up a pivotal final drive. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik completed a big-time pass to T.J. Moore while taking a shot to lead a drive into the red zone. Facing fourth-and-4, LSU defender Harold Perkins brought pressure and forced an incompletion to end the game. 

Playing against a phenomenal Clemson defense, Nussmeier stepped up big, completing 28 of 38 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown in the win. Anderson was his top target, catching six passes for 99 yards, including a 39-yarder. Running back Caden Durham went for 74 yards and a touchdown. Klubnik was strong, throwing for 230 yards, with four receivers hitting four catches. However, the lack of running game (20 carries for 31 yards) stood tall in the biggest moments. 

Read on below for takeaways from LSU’s season-opening win over Clemson on Saturday. 





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