Page 4 - Washington

IRS plans to lay off 7K probationary workers across US starting today

The IRS will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning on Thursday, a person familiar with the plans told AP. The layoffs affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments, according to the person, who was not authorised to disclose the plans and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. Compliance work includes ensuring that taxpayers are abiding by the tax code, filing their returns and paying their taxes, among other duties. The layoffs are part of the Trump administration's intensified efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection. They come despite IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season being told earlier this month that they would not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the ...

Presidents Day 2025: What's open and closed on Washington's birthday?

This year, Presidents Day 2025 falls on Feb 17. Originally dedicated to George Washington, it now honors Lincoln as well as Washington. Federal offices and banks are closed, however, shops are opened

Plane carrying Marco Rubio forced to return to US ahead of Europe trip

An Air Force plane carrying Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Sen Jim Risch, to Germany for the Munich Security Conference was forced to return to Washington late Thursday after developing a mechanical issue. This evening, en route from Washington to Munich, the plane on which Secretary Rubio is flying experienced a mechanical issue, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said. "The plane has turned around and is returning to Joint Base Andrews, she said. The secretary intends to continue his travel to Germany and the Middle East on a separate air craft. The issue with what one official said had to do with the cockpit windshield on the C-32, a converted Boeing 757, occurred about 90 minutes after the flight took off from Joint Base Andrews outside of Washington. Although Rubio plans to resume his journey on a new plane it was not immediately clear if the delay would cause him to miss a scheduled Friday morning meeting with Vice Presid

PM Modi arrives in Washington DC to rousing welcome by Indian diaspora

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a rousing welcome from members of the Indian-American diaspora when he reached Blair House, the President's Guest House. Prime Minister Modi arrived in the US on Wednesday where he will meet President Donald Trump on Thursday for his bilateral meeting after last month's inauguration ceremony. As he reached Blair House, the President's Guest House, where he will be staying he was accorded a rousing welcome by members of the Indian-American diaspora. Braving freezing temperatures and rain, the community members gathered at Blair House and welcomed him with 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', 'Vande Mataram' and Modi Modi' as they waved the Indian and American flags. A warm reception in the winter chill! Despite the cold weather, the Indian diaspora in Washington DC has welcomed me with a very special welcome. My gratitude to them, Modi said on X. Prime Minister Modi is the fourth foreign leader hosted by Trump in the weeks after his inauguration last ...

Trade, energy imports in focus as PM Modi to meet Trump during key US visit

PM Modi's US visit takes on added significance as Donald Trump plans to introduce reciprocal tariffs, with an announcement expected just before the Indian PM's arrival in Washington DC

Time features Musk at Oval Office desk, Trump mocks magazine's relevance

The cover showcases Elon Musk holding a coffee cup while seated at the presidential desk, with the American and presidential flags positioned in the background

Trump's demand that US aid workers return home sparks outrage, anxiety

Frustration boiled over Wednesday among supporters of the United States' lead aid agency at a Washington rally, and anxious aid workers abroad scrambled to pack up households after the Trump administration abruptly pulled almost all agency staffers off the job and out of the field. The order issued Tuesday followed 2 1/2 weeks that have seen the Trump administration and teams led by billionaire ally Elon Musk dismantle much of the US Agency for International Development, shutting down a six-decade mission intended to shore up US security by educating children, fighting epidemics and advancing other development abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been touring Central America on his first visit in office, defended the administration's broad shutdown of aid funding and other actions while saying, Our preference would have been to do this in a more orderly fashion. But, Rubio said, the administration faced a lack of cooperation in an attempt to review the worth of each agenc

Investigators probe Washington DC plane crash wreckage and flight logs

The Washington DC fire department said on Sunday that officials had identified 55 of the 67 people killed in the collision

Washington DC judge extends block on Trump admin's federal funding freeze

A judge in the nation's capital kept a temporary block on a Trump administration's plan for a freeze on federal funding Monday after some nonprofit groups said they're still struggling to get promised grants and loans. US District Judge Loren L. AliKhan extended an order she issued last week that paused a sweeping plan to freeze potentially trillions in federal spending. While the memo outlining it has since been rescinded, the Republican administration has said some kind of funding freeze is still planned as part of his blitz of executive orders. A second judge in Rhode Island has also blocked any federal spending pause in a separate lawsuit filed by nearly two dozen Democratic states. In the Washington lawsuit, several groups reported being unable to access promised federal funding even after the memo was rescinded. They ranged from childcare in Wisconsin to disability services in West Virginia to a small business research project on neutron generation and detection. For many, th

Crews remove large portion of jet from river after air collision near DC

Salvage crews have removed a large portion of a commercial jet from the Potomac River near Washington's Reagan National Airport on Monday, five days after a midair collision last week that killed 67 people. Authorities have said the operation to remove the plane will take several days and they will then work to remove the military helicopter involved in the crash. The crash between the American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter over Washington DC on Wednesday was the deadliest US air disaster since 2001. Authorities have recovered and identified 55 of the 67 people killed in the crash and Washington, DC, Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly has said they are confident all will be found. Crews early Monday could be seen aboard a vessel with a crane. More than 300 responders were taking part in the recovery effort at any given time, officials said. Two Navy barges were also deployed to lift heavy wreckage. Divers and salvage workers are adhering to strict protocols and will stop movin

USAID staff locked out of Washington headquarters after shutdown order

The developments come after Musk, who's leading an extraordinary civilian review of the federal government with the Republican president's agreement

Black Hawk crash: Why was Rebecca Lobach's name kept secret for so long?

Following the crash between an American Airlines plane and Army Black Hawk, the identity of pilot Rebecca Lobach was not revealed until yesterday

US limits helicopter flights after Washington DC crash, 'black boxes' found

Investigators were able on Friday to recover the helicopter's black box, which captures flight data and voices in the cockpit

Teen skaters, coaches and parents among victims of Washington plane crash

The crash occurred late Wednesday night (Jan 30) over the icy waters of the Potomac River, near Ronald Reagan National Airport

Investigators find black boxes after Washington plane collision, probe on

Investigators recovered the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the Bombardier CRJ700 passenger jet, the National Transportation Safety Board said

US citizens express grief over mid-air plane collision in Washington DC

A local, Michelle Boudreau, recounted her experience of listening to the incident and called it heartbreaking

Two aircraft that collided over Washington widely used around the world

The Army helicopter and regional American Airlines jet that collided over Washington are both workhorse aircraft that operate around the world on a daily basis. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the jet, a Bombardier CRJ700, officials said. Three service members were on a training flight on the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. None are believed to have survived the Wednesday night collision, which caused both aircraft to plunge into the frigid Potomac River. What to know about the aircraft: SIKORSKY UH-60 BLACK HAWK There are about 5,000 Black Hawks in use around the world, according to the aviation site FlightGlobal.com. The twin-engine, four-blade helicopter is manufactured by Sikorsky, a subsidiary of defence contractor Lockheed Martin. The aircraft involved in Wednesday's collision was an Army version. There are other variants made for the Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, and for specialised duty such as intelligence gathering. The Black Hawk made its debut in 197

18 dead after American Airlines jet collides with US Army chopper midair

A regional jet and a helicopter collided near Washington National Airport on Wednesday, triggering a search operation in the Potomac River while flights were halted

Bishop appeals Trump to have mercy on LGBTQ+, immigrants 'in name of God'

The bishop made the appeal to Trump a day after the US President signed executive orders reversing Biden-era protections for transgender Americans and suspending the US refugee admissions program

TikTok owner ByteDance plans to spend $12 billion on AI chips in 2025

This move comes as the Chinese company faces pressure from Washington to sell its popular video-sharing app in the United States