A second judge late Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary workers who were let go in mass firings across multiple agencies.  In Baltimore, U.S. District Judge James Bredar, an Obama appointee, found that the administration ignored laws set out for large-scale layoffs. Bredar ordered the firings halted for at least two weeks and the workforce returned to the status quo before the layoffs began.

Over a two-day period, 239 “wasteful” contracts with a “ceiling value” of $1.7 billion have been terminated, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said Thursday, including a grant intended to teach transgender and queer urban farmers about “food justice.” The elimination of the contracts represents a savings of $400 million, according to a DOGE tweet posted on X. Among them included an $8.

President Donald Trump on Thursday saluted the heroic canines who “defend our citizens and our homeland.” National K-9 Veterans Day is an annual March 13 celebration of “canine courage,” and the bravery of military and police dogs.”Serving on the front lines, in combat zones, and at our borders, these fearless four-legged fighters are an invaluable part of protecting America,” Trump said in a Thursday message to commemorate the day.

We learned something on Capitol Hill this week.House Republicans can pass a government funding bill without Democratic assistance.Barely. 217-213.Republicans could only lose one vote. And that’s all they lost: Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHERE WE STAND WITH A POTENTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNThe GOP bill even picked up one Democratic yea: Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.Passing government funding bills on their own wasn’t always the case for the House GOP.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., says he will vote to keep the government open, warning that a shutdown has worse consequences for Americans and would only empower President Donald Trump and Elon Musk further.”I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down,” Schumer said while speaking on the Senate floor on Thursday.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed his name on a bill Wednesday making Idaho the only state in the U.S. to have a firing squad designated as the preferred execution method for capital punishment, beginning next year.The governor’s action comes less than a week after Brad Sigmon, 67, of South Carolina, was executed by way of a firing squad for killing his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat in 2001.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering a review of military fitness and grooming standards as the Trump administration continues to reverse policies critics say have made America’s fighting force appear weaker on the global stage. In a memo Wednesday to senior Pentagon leadership, Hegseth ordered Darin Selnick, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to gather existing standards in all U.S.

An Illinois lawmaker has introduced a bill that critics say will make it legal for anyone experiencing a mental health episode to attack police officers.Democratic state Rep. Lisa Davis, an attorney in the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender’s office, introduced House Bill 3458 in February.