Wednesday, January 29, 2025
It is Wednesday, January 29, 2025. Here are today’s top stories.
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Federal employees offered “deferred resignation”
The White House is offering 2 million federal workers to resign and still earn paychecks until the end of September. This is called a “deferred resignation program” and is a part of the Trump administration’s goal to shrink the federal workforce. Federal employees were told that they have to decide by February 6 and if they wanted to resign, they could just send an email with the word, “resign” in the subject line. The White House warned federal employees that there would be changes in the future and the security of their jobs are not guaranteed. It’s a controversial offer and some feel distrustful of whether the White House would actually pay them until September if they did resign. News reports said this effort to reduce the federal workforce probably comes from Elon Musk, who was appointed by Trump to reduce the size of the federal government. Musk did a similar approach to reduce the size of Twitter’s workforce when he bought it in 2022. NBC News said the White House expects up to 10% of federal employees to take the offer, especially those who have worked remotely.
This clearly could have an impact on many Deaf federal employees and I’m working on a separate story that I will post tomorrow.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/28/trump-buyouts-federal-workers.html
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Trump rescinds funding freeze order after judge temporarily blocks it
The New York Times reported that the White House rescinded its order to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans.
Prior to this, a federal judge had put a temporary pause on the freeze on federal funding. The pause was supposed to last until February 3 (next Monday), where the judge planned to hear arguments from the Trump administration and those opposed to the freeze, such as the National Council of Nonprofits.
The National Council of Nonprofits told the judge that nonprofits and grant recipients are feeling chaos because they’re not sure if they’ll get federal funding that they expected — they are not sure if they can make payroll, rent payments, and serve their clients.
News reports said 22 states and D.C. filed a lawsuit to stop the freeze. They said the president cannot usurp Congress’ “power of the purse” — that Congress decides where funding is appropriated.
News reports said the court battles could have gone all the way to the Supreme Court, but it appears that all of this will go away for now with the White House doing a 180.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01/29/us/trump-federal-freeze-funding-news
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Student dies after falling from pole during Philadelphia Eagle victory celebrations
A 18-year-old college student who climbed a street pole in Philadelphia during celebrations of the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff game victory on Sunday has tragically died of injuries he sustained after he fell from the pole. His name was Tyler Sabapathy and he was a student at Temple University in Philadelphia and a gymnast. He grew up in Toronto, Canada. Witnesses said he struck his head on a sidewalk when he fell from the pole. He was hospitalized and passed away on Tuesday.
https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-eagles-fan-fatal-fall-726abb7ea291219cb066896a425244e7
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Congo: Rebels fighting against government forces
CNN reported that in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is serious fighting between government forces and “M23 rebels” who want to seize control of the city of Goma. The fighting has persisted for at least three days and multiple people have died. The rebels seized control of Goma's airport.
CNN said the Congolese government accused neighboring country Rwanda of supporting and equipping the M23 group with weapons and troops.
Reuters said this incident stems from a “decades-old conflict over power, identity and resources…”
The M23 rebels had previously seized control of a valuable mine that produces coltan, a mineral that is used to make smartphones and other equipment.
The new U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. is deeply troubled by the violence in eastern Congo.
CNN said Eastern African leaders plan to hold an emergency meeting this week to find solutions to the crisis.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/africa/congo-forces-residents-goma-clashes-intl/index.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/what-is-happening-congo-why-are-m23-rebels-fighting-2025-01-29/
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Truck driver stuck in large sinkhole in Japan
A truck driver in Japan became stuck in a large sinkhole outside of Tokyo for over 24 hours. This happened on Tuesday and as of today, crews are still working to rescue him. There are complications due to concerns that gas pipes could break and about whether the area around the hold is stable. The driver is in his 70s and initially spoke with rescuers but after a while, rescuers said they haven’t been able to contact him. There was a second sinkhole that opened up near the first sinkhole. Here’s hoping that the truck driver can be rescued.
This story reminds me of a tragic incident in Pennsylvania when a 64-year-old woman was found dead after falling through a sinkhole in December — she was looking for her missing cat at the time.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sinkhole-japan-driver-trapped-residents-evacuated/
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That is all the top stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.