Wednesday 03.19.25

Billionaire Elon Musk’s effort to remake the US government took a hit Tuesday when a federal judge blocked his Department of Government Efficiency from shutting down USAID, saying the actions likely violated the Constitution. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and on With Your Day.
 

By Jade Walker

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Trump-Putin

After a two-hour call between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, the White House announced that the Russian leader had agreed to pause attacks on Ukraine’s energy and infrastructure sites. Ukraine’s energy grid has been among Putin’s biggest targets since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Kremlin, however, described the deal differently, saying that Putin had “responded positively” to a proposal for “the parties to the conflict to mutually refrain from attacks on energy infrastructure facilities for 30 days.” Either way, the negotiations stopped short of a broader ceasefire. Hours after the call, Russia attacked Ukraine with roughly 150 drones and missiles, hitting a hospital and an electricity system powering the railways, officials said. Ukraine also launched more than 50 drones overnight in the Kursk border region, Russia’s defense ministry said. 

Hottest decade

The latest “State of the Global Climate” report has been released and the news is pretty dire: our world has just experienced its hottest decade. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2024 was the hottest since record-keeping began and was likely the first time global temperatures exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above the baseline set in 1850-1900. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide were at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years. Such record levels of greenhouse gases — along with the El Niño weather pattern — were mostly to blame for the higher temperatures.

Extreme weather

Just days after a cross-country storm left a vast trail of destruction and dozens dead in seven states, another potent storm is forecast to affect millions today. CNN meteorologist Mary Gilbert said this latest event may spawn severe thunderstorms with powerful winds from Texas to Minnesota. Gusty winds may increase the risk of wildfires in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, where the dry vegetation is primed to ignite. Up north, the Plains could also see the return of heavy snow and blizzard conditions.

Transgender troops

A federal judge indefinitely blocked President Trump’s ban on transgender service members Tuesday, dealing a major defeat to a controversial policy Trump resurrected from his first term. The ban, which was set to begin later this month, could have affected an estimated 14,000 transgender troops. US District Judge Ana Reyes said the administration cannot enforce the ban because it “is soaked in animus and dripping with pretext. Its language is unabashedly demeaning, its policy stigmatizes transgender persons as inherently unfit, and its conclusions bear no relation to fact.” 

Social Security

A new Social Security anti-fraud rule could force more people to visit agency offices at a time when the organization is downsizing. The new rule, which takes effect on March 31, would require people filing benefit applications who cannot prove their identities online to complete their claims in person. Mandating more in-person identity verification would increase the number of visitors to field offices by between 75,000 and 85,000 people per week, according to a memo from an official. The agency was already understaffed — it currently takes more than a month to get an appointment — and now DOGE aims to cut 7,000 employees and close several offices. So far, more than 2,500 Social Security employees have applied to take buyout offers. 

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Flying isn’t getting any easier
A passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to LAX had to be restrained on Monday after he allegedly bit one person and hit several others. 

Exciting start to March Madness
Sophomore guard Amarr Knox made a last-second layup that helped Alabama State beat Saint Francis 70-68 in the First Four of the men’s basketball tournament. It was the Hornets first-ever NCAA tournament victory. 

Thief who stole golden toilet convicted
Michael Jones had used the fully functioning, one-of-a-kind, 18-carat latrine at an English palace the day before the theft, an experience he described as “splendid.” 

Iron Maiden’s plane cut into pieces
Fans can soon own a piece of the heavy metal band’s Boeing 747-400 tour plane — known as "Ed Force One" — which has been dismantled and transformed into limited edition collectable tags. 

Stars steam up the screen in new flick
Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow spilled the tea about her upcoming movie, “Marty Supreme,” in which she and co-star Timothée Chalamet get pretty hot and heavy on screen. “We have a lot of sex in this movie. There’s a lot — a lot,” she said. 

$11 million

That’s how much Hollywood writer-director Carl Erik Rinsch is accused of swindling from Netflix for a sci-fi show that never aired, instead steering the cash toward cryptocurrency investments and a series of lavish purchases that included a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari. 

Give us back the Statue of Liberty. It was our gift to you. But apparently you despise her.

— French politician Raphael Glucksmann, urging the US to return Lady Liberty for switching “to the side of the tyrants.” Specifically, Glucksmann was referring to President Trump’s decision to befriend Russian President Vladimir Putin and his recent Oval Office spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

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Dolphins greet SpaceX capsule
The capsule carrying astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams was surrounded by a pod of dolphins after splashing down off Florida's coast. Watch here and listen to former astronauts explain how to adjust after extended stays in space.