The Trump administration moved Sunday to fire some 2,000 U.S. Agency for International Development workers and place most others on administrative leave, according to an email the agency sent to staff.

The big picture: The action that's set to take effect on Sunday just before midnight comes days after a federal judge permitted the administration to move ahead with the mass firings and continue the DOGE-led dismantling of the large-scale operation at what was the world's largest humanitarian aid organization.

Driving the news: "As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, 2025, all USAID direct hire personnel, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, will be placed on administrative leave globally," per the email to staff that was obtained by outlets including Axios.

• "Concurrently, USAID is beginning to implement a Reduction-in-Force that will affect approximately 1,600 USAID personnel with duty stations in the United States," added the email that's now posted on USAID's website.

Context: The Trump administration moved earlier this month to place direct hires on administrative leave globally and announced that it would pay for USAID personnel posted overseas to return travel to the U.S. within 30 days.

• Unions representing USAID workers sued the Trump administration, calling the action to dismantle the agency "unconstitutional and illegal."
• However, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Friday lifted a temporary restraining order he had issued in the case after finding that "initial assertions of harm were overstated" by the plaintiffs.

Zoom out: Elon Musk has been leading a drive to shut USAID down amid his DOGE cost-cutting efforts across all federal agencies.

• Secretary of State Marco Rubio, USAID's acting administrator, had said the administration's goal was to "identify programs that work and continue them and to identify programs that are not aligned with our national interest" and address them.
• In a separate case, a federal judge has paused the Trump administration's freeze on foreign aid.

Go deeper: Agencies, unions tell fed workers: Don't answer Musk's threat email

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Pope Francis was in critical condition after an "asthma-like respiratory crisis" following earlier reports of pneumonia in both his lungs, the Vatican said on Saturday.

The big picture: The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Hospital earlier this month with bronchitis symptoms and his treatment was changed after doctors found he had a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract.

What they're saying: "Today's blood tests also revealed thrombocytopenia, associated with anemia, which required the administration of blood transfusions," the Vatican said Saturday.

• "The Holy Father remains alert and spent the day in an armchair, although he is more uncomfortable than yesterday. At the moment, the prognosis remains guarded."

Catch up quick: The Vatican said the earlier polymicrobial infection arose "in the context of bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis" and which required antibiotics, "makes the therapeutic treatment more complex."

• A follow-up chest X-ray Tuesday afternoon "demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia that required further pharmacological therapy," said the Vatican of the pope, who has a history of respiratory health issues.
• "The Holy Father remains alert and spent the day in an armchair, although he is more uncomfortable than yesterday," the Vatican said Saturday. "At the moment, the prognosis remains guarded."

Go deeper: Pope jabs Vance, criticizes Trump admin for mass deportations

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the pope's latest condition.

• Axios' Lauren Floyd contributed reporting.

Canada beat Team USA 3-2 in an overtime 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game thriller in Boston on Thursday night, which saw political tensions spill into the arena.

The big picture: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a swipe at President Trump's call for Canada's annexation as the 51st U.S. state moments after the win, saying on X: "You can't take our country — and you can't take our game."

• Trump said on Truth Social earlier Thursday he was calling Team USA "to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State."

Zoom in: Ahead of the game, U.S. hockey fans booed Canada's national anthem — after Canadian fans booed a rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner" before Team USA's winning game in Montreal last week.

• And singer Chantal Kreviazuk confirmed to CBC News she changed the lyrics to "O Canada" on Thursday from "True patriot love, in all of us command" to "that only us command" in response to Trump's annexation calls.

In photos: Highlights from politically charged U.S.-Canada hockey final

Go deeper: Trump's first month turns U.S. foreign policy upside down

Editor's note: This article and the headline have been updated to reflect Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's comment and further context has been added.

The Trump administration has "not complied" fully with a court order pausing a freeze on foreign aid, a federal judge in D.C. ruled Thursday evening.

The big picture: U.S. District Court Judge Amir Ali decided not to hold the State Department and Office of Management and Budget in contempt, but said to the extent they "have continued the blanket suspension, they are ordered to immediately cease it."

Driving the news: The Trump administration said it had complied with the order Ali issued last week that it temporarily reinstate foreign aid funding, as two nonprofits challenge in a lawsuit the axing of the assistance via USAID and the State Department.

• "By enjoining Defendants and their agents from implementing any directives to undertake such blanket suspension, the Court was not inviting Defendants to continue the suspension while they reviewed contracts and legal authorities to come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension," Ali wrote.
• The judge found the Trump administration had continued a funding freeze "pending review of agreements," something the temporary restraining order "enjoined pending the parties' requested briefing schedule and the Court's prompt resolution of whether to issue a preliminary injunction."
• However, the judge said "contempt is not warranted on the current record and given Defendants' explicit recognition that 'prompt compliance with the order' is required."

Context: The groups that filed the motion for civil contempt, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) and Journalism Development Network, Inc. (JDN), cited a Trump administration status report that they said showed it had not restarted any funding or allowed the resumption of work despite the court order.

• They brought the lawsuit after President Trump on Jan. 20 signed an executive order pausing U.S. foreign aid amid a wider, DOGE-led cost-cutting overhaul of the federal workforce and agencies.
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio later issued waivers for "life-saving humanitarian assistance programs." Rubio also ordered a stop on most foreign assistance funded via the State Department and USAID.
• The nonprofits say the Trump administration's actions are illegal and "harming global health and security."
• Trump said in his order the "foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values."

Zoom out: The U.S. government has been the world's single largest humanitarian donor, per the United Nations.

Read the order in full, via DocumentCloud:

Go deeper: Courts become the final guardrail against Trump

Editor's note: This article has been updated with further context.

President Trump remains blocked from ending birthright citizenship in the U.S. after a federal appeals court ruling on Wednesday night.

The big picture: Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship is facing multiple lawsuits, including from Democratic attorneys general and civil rights groups who say it violates the Constitution. The case is likely to end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

• The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to decline an emergency request from the Department of Justice to stop a lower-court Seattle-based judge's order from taking effect marks the first time an appellate court has ruled in the matter.
• Courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and New Hampshire have also issued rulings blocking the order.

Zoom in: The three judges in the San Francisco-based appeals court, comprising appointees of Presidents Trump, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush, found the DOJ had failed to make a "strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of this appeal."

• The case has been set down for further review, with arguments due to be heard in June.
• Representatives for the Trump administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

Go deeper...

• Scoop: Democrats target Trump's birthright citizenship order
• Trump offers first defense of birthright citizenship order in court filing
• 18 Republicans cite 1600s case law to defend Trump birthright citizenship order

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Wednesday evening President Trump's goal is to "abolish" the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The big picture: Lutnick's remarks on Fox News, which come as the IRS is reportedly poised to lay off thousands of workers, build on a pledge Trump made to create an "External Revenue Service" to oversee tariffs and other potential foreign revenue.

• Trump has also floated the idea of abolishing federal income taxes as part of his plans of "tariffing and taxing foreign nations to enrich our citizens."

Driving the news: Lutnick said on "Jesse Watters Primetime" that Elon Musk, in his capacity as a senior White House adviser leading DOGE, was "going to cut" $1 trillion "and then we're going to get rid of all these tax scams that hammer against America, and we're going to raise a trillion dollars of revenue."

• Fox News host Jesse Watters asked Lutnick if he'd give the savings from DOGE cuts back to the American people.
• "Think about it, Donald Trump announces the External Revenue Service, and his goal is very simple ... his goal is to abolish the Internal Revenue Service and let all the outsiders pay," Lutnick replied.

Zoom out: While the reported mass firings were not discussed during the interview, an official with a Kansas City, Mo., union that represents IRS workers in the area said she had been notified on Wednesday about the layoffs, which are part of a DOGE-led drive to slash federal workforce numbers.

• Shannon Ellis, president of the city's National Treasury Employee Union chapter, said in a Facebook video they "received notification" that workers in the agency's Small Business/Self Employed Division "who are on probation are scheduled for termination" as early as Thursday.
• Representatives for the White House, Commerce Department and IRS did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment in the evening.

Go deeper: Musk's DOGE dismantles the job security of federal work

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered military officials to find $50 billion in budget cuts for fiscal year 2026 to be redirected to align with President Trump's priorities for the department, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Why it matters: The review to identify offsets from the Biden administration's FY26 budget is set to overhaul Defense Department priorities, with a Pentagon official noting its mandate is border security, ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and building Trump's planned Iron Dome missile defense shield.

By the numbers: Robert Salesses, performing the duties of the deputy defense secretary, said these offsets are targeted at 8% (about $50 billion) of the Biden administration's budget, "which will then be spent on programs aligned" with Trump's priorities.

What they're saying: "The Department of Defense is conducting this review to ensure we are making the best use of the taxpayers' dollars in a way that delivers on the President Trump's defense priorities efficiently and effectively," Salesses said in an emailed statement Wednesday.

• "Through our budgets, the Department of Defense will once again resource warfighting and cease unnecessary spending that set our military back under the previous administration, including through so-called 'climate change' and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy," he added.
• Salesses' comments echo those of Hegseth at a conference in Germany last week. "The Defense Department is not in the business of climate change, solving the global thermostat. We're in the business of deterring and winning wars," Hegseth said.
• "So, things like that we want to look for to find efficiencies and many others — the way we acquire weapons, system procurement."

Zoom out: The Defense Department, which has 128 coastal military installations in the U.S. alone, had previously identified climate change as a key threat and the Navy has held exercises to help be better prepared for extreme weather.

• The Navy in its Climate Action 2030 report described it as "one of the most destabilizing forces of our time, exacerbating other national security concerns and posing serious readiness challenges."
• A 2023 Congressional Research Service report citing Pentagon officials warned climate change "has growing implications for the costs of operating U.S. military installations and associated equipment," noting recent hurricanes and storms had caused billions of dollars in damage to bases.

Go deeper: Climate change poses growing threat to NATO

President Trump and Elon Musk defended the DOGE-led overhaul of the federal workforce and agencies during an interview on Fox News' "Hannity" that aired on Tuesday night.

The big picture: The pair praised each other during the interview as they pushed back against Democrats' criticism of DOGE, Trump declared "inflation is back" and the president revealed how much X paid him to settle a lawsuit, while Fox News' Sean Hannity noted: " I feel like I'm interviewing two brothers."

Trump says X paid him $10 million to settle lawsuit

Trump said in the interview that was pre-taped on Tuesday night that Musk "got a big discount" as X settled the lawsuit over the platform — then known as Twitter — permanently suspending his account after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

• "It's very low. I was looking to get much more money than that," Trump said as Musk sat beside him.
• Musk said he "left it up to the lawyers and the team running Twitter."

"Inflation's back. ... I had nothing to do with that"

Trump acknowledged inflation concerns, following The Consumer Price Index rising 3% in the year through January, compared to the 2.9% increase in December. Economists warn higher U.S. inflation is a risk of his global tariffs drive.

• "I'm only here for two and a half weeks. Inflation is back," Trump said.
• "Inflation's back and they said, 'Oh, Trump.' I had nothing to do with it. These people have run the country," he said, in an apparent reference to the Biden administration. "They spent money like nobody's ever spent."

Trump and Musk on conflict of interest concerns

Hannity raised the matter of potential conflicts of interest surrounding government contracts that Musk's companies SpaceX and Tesla have.

• Trump said Musk "won't be involved," while the world's richest person said: "I'll recuse myself if it is."

Defending criticism of DOGE

With DOGE's move to cut costs and the Trump administration's related mass firings of federal workers triggering a wave of lawsuits and nationwide protests, Hannity raised criticism of the drive.

• "This is what you get for it from the Democrats ... nobody voted for Elon. Well, nobody voted for any of your cabinet nominees, OK? People are dying because of DOGE cuts," Hannity said.
• "I'll give you a chance to respond to that. What DOGE is doing is illegal. Elon Musk is street vernacular for a male body part. It's a constitutional crisis," he added.
• Musk responded: "Why are they reacting like this?"
• He said all they're "really trying to do here is restore the will of the people through the president" and "what we're finding is that there's an unelected bureaucracy."

DOGE's $1 trillion goal

Musk in January pledged to slash at least $2 trillion from the federal budget, before later saying: "If we try for $2 trillion, we've got a good shot at getting $1 (trillion)."

• During the "Hannity" interview, he said: "The overall goal is to try to get $1 trillion out of the deficit. And if the deficit is not brought under control, America will go bankrupt."
• Trump said Musk, the face of DOGE, had identified 1% in waste, fraud and abuse, which he called "massive" and "huge money," and said he thinks the billionaire is "going to find $1 trillion."

Go deeper: Legal challenges to DOGE's data access hinge on outdated laws

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more details from the interview.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was charged Tuesday over an alleged coup plot to overturn his 2022 election loss and accused of being involved in plans to kill his rival, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The big picture: Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet's office made the allegations in announcing the charges against 34 people — including the 69-year-old populist leader, who's denied any wrongdoing in the case and accused investigators of political persecution.

• The charges follow proposed indictments from the Brazilian federal police in November after a two-year investigation into the fallout from the election that Bolsonaro never formally conceded, which saw his supporters storm the presidential palace and other government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023.

Zoom in: Bolsonaro and his co-accused face charges including coup d'état, criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law and damage qualified by violence, per a statement from Gonet.

• Prosecutors allege the plot began in 2021 with "systematic attacks on the electronic voting system, through public statements and on the internet."
• "Allied with other individuals, including civilians and military personnel, they attempted to prevent, in a coordinated manner, the result of the 2022 presidential elections from being fulfilled," Gonet alleged.

Zoom out: Brazil's highest court, the Supreme Court, in 2023 banned Bolsonaro from running for office for eight years after finding he had undermined democracy in Latin America's largest nation by making false claims about its voting system.

What's next: Gonet submitted an indictment to the Supreme Court and if it deems there is a case to answer, Bolsonaro will stand trial.

Flashback: Lula sworn in as Brazil's president in ceremony Bolsonaro skipped

Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Thousands rallied against President Trump in D.C. and across the U.S. on Monday to protest policies including his administration's efforts to make sweeping cuts to government agencies and its push to deport undocumented immigrants.

The big picture: The Presidents Day demonstrations, driven by the 50501 Movement, a grassroots effort that calls for 50 protests in 50 states, also featured signs protesting Elon Musk, the billionaire face of DOGE.

• Protest organizers said the rallies were against "anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration and its plutocratic allies."
• Many protesters turned out in cities impacted by polar-vortex related frigid temperatures.

What they're saying: White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said Monday night Trump "received a resounding mandate from the American people," in reference to November's win that saw him triumph in the electoral college and become the first Republican president to win the popular vote since 2004, though by the narrowest margin since 2000.

• Trump "swiftly took action to deliver on his promises of restoring common sense policies, strengthening the economy, and re-establishing America's dominance on the world stage," Fields added in his email.
• "President Trump is a leader for all Americans, and he will continue to prioritize America's interests in every decision."

In photos: Anti-Trump protests across the U.S.

Go deeper: Photos from earlier rallies against the Trump administration's government overhaul

Elon Musk is not the administrator of DOGE nor is he an employee of the department that's overseeing massive cuts to the federal workforce and agencies, per a Monday night White House court filing.

Why it matters: President Trump described Musk as a leader of the operation when he announced the department in November, and the billionaire has become the face of the drive.

Driving the news: "Like other senior White House advisors, Mr Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself," per the filing, signed by Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration at the White House, and filed in D.C. federal court.

• Musk is a "Special Government Employee" (SGE) and in that job he's a senior adviser to the president, said Fisher, per the declaration in the case, which the state of New Mexico brought against the SpaceX owner and others.
• The Tesla CEO "has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself," Fisher said.
• He said Anita Dunn was an "influential" senior adviser to former President Biden "while serving as an SGE."

Zoom out: Musk appeared alongside Trump at the White House to speak about government cuts as recently as last week.

• Trump said during a Fox News Super Bowl special interview he'd had "great help" in the DOGE drive "with Elon Musk" and he was going to tell him "to go check to the Department of Education" soon.
• Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening on whether Musk is still considered a leader of DOGE.

Go deeper: Musk's double-edged sword on government shutdowns

The Trump administration fired "less than 400" of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) 45,000 employees, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday evening.

The big picture: The Trump administration's push to make large-scale reductions in the federal workforce in a cost-cutting drive has been criticized by some, including the union that represents the FAA and Duffy's Democratic predecessor, Pete Buttigieg.

Driving the news: Duffy's comments on X were in response to Buttigieg's criticism.

• Those "let go" were "all probationary, meaning they had been hired less than a year ago," Duffy said.
• He added: "Zero air traffic controllers and critical safety personnel were let go."

Zoom out: David Spero, the leader of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS) union, which represents FAA employees, said in a Saturday statement that the agency "is already challenged by understaffing."

• Spero said the action was "unconscionable in the aftermath of three deadly aircraft accidents in the past month," including the fatal collision near Reagan Washington National Airport outside D.C. between a passenger plane and Army helicopter, which killed 67 people.
• Duffy's post did not address Spero's comments that the affected employees had been sent messages "from an 'exec order' Microsoft email address," rather than an official .gov address.

Read the full X exchange between Duffy and Buttigieg below:

Mayor Pete failed for four years to address the air traffic controller shortage and upgrade our outdated, World War II-era air traffic control system. In less than four weeks, we have already begun the process and are engaging the smartest minds in the entire world.

Here’s the… https://t.co/LCL1dswC2T

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) February 18, 2025

Go deeper: Musk's SpaceX personnel visiting FAA to suggest improvements

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said she's meeting with "key leaders" at her Manhattan office Tuesday to discuss a "path forward" after four top officials in NYC Mayor Eric Adams' administration resigned.

Why it matters: Hochul said in her Monday statement the resignation of First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer and the other officials "raises serious questions about the long-term future" of Adams' administration and acknowledged she has the power to remove the mayor from office.

The big picture: Torres-Springer and Deputy Mayors Meera Joshi, Chauncey Parker and Anne Williams-Isom resigned after a top Justice Department official requested federal prosecutors drop federal bribery and fraud charges against the indicted mayor and Adams' cooperation with the Trump administration on border security.

• The mayor, who has denied any wrongdoing in the case and pleaded not guilty to all charges, has resisted pressure to resign.

Zoom in: Hochul noted that "in the 235 years of New York State history," the governor's power to remove an elected mayor had never been used and that "overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly."

• However, she said "the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored."

What they're saying: Adams' press secretary Kayla Mamelak Altus said Monday night the mayor has been "clear that his loyalty is solely to the 8.3 million New Yorkers" and he's "always available to speak with the governor about how we can continue to deliver for them."

• She pointed to his record in housing, jobs, providing for New Yorkers and immigrants, among other projects that came despite "this investigation and case."
• Mamelak Altus added that "all deputy mayors remain in their roles for the time being to ensure a seamless transition and we are actively working to find their replacements."
• Adams earlier said in a media statement he's "disappointed" to see the deputies go, "but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Pope Francis is being treated in the hospital for a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract," the Vatican said Monday.

The big picture: The 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Hospital Friday "for an ongoing bout of bronchitis" and tests revealed "a complex clinical picture" that "has led to a further change in therapy," per Vatican statements.

What is a polymicrobial infection?

Polymicrobial diseases are "caused by combinations of viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites," per the National Institutes of Health. These can be acute or chronic.

• The Vatican's disclosure that the infection is in his respiratory tract means the bacteria is in his lungs.

How can this infection be treated?

The Vatican didn't immediately say whether the pope's infection was bacterial or viral or what treatment he's receiving, but said he's "stable."

• Such infections are usually treated with antibiotics, according to the NIH. But while antibiotics can treat bacterial infections, they can't treat viral ones, per the CDC.

What are the threats for people with vulnerable health systems?

Older people with weaker immune systems or complex health problems can be vulnerable to polymicrobial infections.

• Asthma + Lung UK medical director Nick Hopkinson told AP while healthy people tend to recover quickly from bronchitis, "bacteria can come and colonize the airways" of those with damaged lungs and "you start to see infections which makes it more difficult to treat."
• However, Hopkinson added: "If they've identified particular things to treat, they can treat those and he'll start to recover."

What are the health concerns for the pope?

The pope has a history of respiratory health issues, which includes having part of his lung removed in his native Argentina in 1957.

• Francis was hospitalized with a respiratory tract infection in 2023 and treated with antibiotics for bronchitis.
• The pope is often seen in a wheelchair and addressed his health concerns in an autobiography out last month. "I am well," he reportedly said. "The reality is, quite simply, that I am old."
• A Vatican official on Monday described the pope as being in "good spirits."

Go deeper: Pope jabs Vance, criticizes Trump admin for mass deportations

A Delta Air Lines plane from Minneapolis crashed while landing at Toronto's Pearson International Airport Monday, but officials said all 80 people on board were evacuated from the aircraft that flipped during snowy conditions.

The big picture: There were no fatalities from the crash that involved Delta Connection flight 4819, operated by regional subsidiary Endeavor Air, but "18 customers" were taken to local hospitals, per a Delta statement on what the airline called a "single-aircraft accident."

• Toronto Pearson CEO Deborah Flint at a Monday evening briefing said 22 of the 76 passengers and four crew members aboard the plane were Canadian. The others were "multinationals," added Flint, who did not elaborate further and declined to answer questions.
• Footage and photos of the scene showed the plane upside down on the snow-covered ground.

Situation report: Delta said the crash happened about 2:15pm ET during blowing snow and strong wind gusts.

• Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken said at a Monday night briefing that while the cause of the crash was being investigated, "the runway was dry and there was no cross-wind conditions."
• Medical transport provider Ornge said in a media statement that three people sustained critical injuries in the crash. However, Flint said at the evening briefing that officials did not know of any critical injuries.
• Departures and arrivals at Toronto Pearson resumed about 5pm ET after the airport briefly closed, according to Delta and the airport.
• Flint called the emergency response "textbook" and said the focus was on the care and concern for the passengers and the crew, "some of whom have already been reunified with their friends and their families."

Zoom in: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigators were en route to Toronto and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will lead the investigation, per a post to X from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

• "I've been in touch with my counterpart in Canada to offer assistance and help with the investigation," Duffy added.
• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said on Bluesky he's "in touch with Delta" about the crash, adding: "Grateful to the first responders and professionals on the scene."

Zoom out: The crash follows a midair collision last month between a commercial aircraft and an Army helicopter near Reagan National Airport, outside D.C.

• Despite these incidents, data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics shows flying is the safest form of transportation.

Go deeper: D.C. plane crash is among country's deadliest in decades

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

"Saturday Night Live" celebrated 50 years with a three-hour anniversary special that saw A-list appearances and the return of "SNL" alums to the iconic show on Sunday night.

The big picture: Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter kicked off the celebrations with a performance of "Homeward Bound," before "SNL" alum Steve Martin delivered an opening monologue that included a joke about President Trump's decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."

Zoom in: It was only a few days ago that "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels "told me I was doing the monologue, and I was actually vacationing on a friend's boat down in the 'Gulf of Steve Martin,'" joked the comedian and actor.

• Meryl Streep made her "SNL" debut, while Jack Nicholson made a rare public appearance since retiring from acting. The 87-year-old introduced Adam Sandler who paid a musical tribute to the show.
• Eddie Murphy also put in a star turn, with the "SNL" alum perfectly imitating Tracy Morgan in a "Black Jeopardy" sketch that featured cameos from Chris Rock and Tom Hanks wearing a MAGA hat:

Black Jeopardy! #SNL50 pic.twitter.com/QFKKTRWeer

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) February 17, 2025

Go deeper: The messy digital evolution of "Saturday Night Live"

Editor's note: This article has been updated with more photos and further details.

An Internal Revenue Service employee connected with the Elon Musk-led DOGE team is set to seek access to an IRS system that includes sensitive taxpayer data, the Washington Post first reported Sunday and Axios can confirm.

Why it matters: President Trump has given DOGE powers to oversee government agencies and the federal workforce with the goal of cutting bloat, but his administration is facing several lawsuits accusing it of violating privacy laws in regards to accessing sensitive data.

The big picture: The Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) enables certain IRS employees "to have instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts," per an agency post.

• It can be used for researching "account information and requesting returns" and automatically "generating notices, collection documents and other outputs," according to the IRS.
• The staffer who joined at the start of Trump's second term has now been onboarded, Axios understands.
• An administration official said the staffer is acting legally on the "DOGE mission" and "with the appropriate security clearances."

What they're saying: White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement first shared with NBC News that waste, "fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long."

• He added in the text message: "It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard earned tax dollars on."

Zoom out: The move comes as roughly 140 million people in the U.S. prepare to file individual tax returns by the April 15 deadline.

Zoom in: DOGE has been tasked with modernizing federal technology and software to "maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."

• Some of the IRS' software dates back to the 1960s.
• Representatives for the IRS did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

Go deeper: Trump orders "large-scale" cuts to federal workforce, gives DOGE more power

The U.S. Supreme Court is holding off on interfering in a lower court decision to block the Trump administration from firing the head of an independent watchdog agency that investigates federal workers' whistleblower reports.

Why it matters: The case concerning the removal of Hampton Dellinger as head of the Office of Special Counsel is the first of what's expected to be several appeals to the high court since President Trump regained office and moved to fire government workers in a federal workforce overhaul.

• The Trump administration is facing multiple lawsuits challenging the actions.

Driving the news: The Supreme Court decided Friday to postpone its decision until the lower court's ruling expired on February 26.

• Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, saying they would have denied the administration's request.
• Justices Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito also dissented, writing they would have allowed the Trump administration's request.

Catch up quick: Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said in the administration's filing that a federal judge's order temporarily blocking Dellinger's dismissal, which the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined to overrule, marks an "unprecedented assault on the separation of powers."

• Harris added: "This court should not allow lower courts to seize executive power by dictating to the President how long he must continue employing an agency head against his will."

The big picture: The Senate confirmed Dellinger in his role for a five-year term last March after he was nominated by then-President Biden.

• Dellinger accuses the Trump administration in a lawsuit of unlawfully firing him.
• Federal law states that a special counsel "may be removed by the President only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office."
• Representatives for Dellinger did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.

Read the emergency filing, obtained by The Hill, via DocumentCloud:

Go deeper: Tests of Trump's power on fast tracks to the Supreme Court

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details from the decision.

A massive, severe storm system that's slamming the U.S. Northeast with heavy snow has this weekend triggered flash flood warnings in West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee and Kentucky, where officials reported at least 11 deaths.

The big picture: The multifaceted storm that began Saturday knocked out power to an estimated half a million customers from Virginia to Mississippi and delayed thousands of flights during the holiday weekend.

• In Atlanta, Georgia, a local fire department official reported a man in his 60s was killed when a tree fell on his home during the storms.

Threat level: President Trump approved an emergency disaster declaration for Kentucky, making funds available in the storm that's impacting towns including Hazard, Ky., which was also affected by 2022's deadly flooding.

• Meanwhile, the storm was bringing powerful and damaging winds to the mid-Atlantic and heavy snow to New England and parts of Ontario and Quebec in Canada.
• Heavy rainfall was expected to continue to bring flash flooding from the mid-Mississippi Valley into the central Appalachians Sunday, per the National Weather Service.
• "Severe thunderstorms may bring damaging winds and tornadoes to parts of the Southeast U.S. this weekend," the NWS warned in a forecast discussion.

Zoom in: Mandatory evacuations were announced in Kentucky and Tennessee, where Obion County Mayor Steve Carr declared an emergency Sunday due to flooding.

• Beshear said at a Sunday morning briefing that a mother and her 7-year-old daughter were among those to die in floodwater-related incidents in Kentucky and he noted in evening social media posts that the state was "still facing dangerous conditions across the state."

By the numbers: In Virginia, where river flooding continued to be a concern, utility tracker poweroutage.us estimated more than 206,000 were without electricity on Sunday evening.

• As of Monday afternoon, more than 34,000 were still without power in Virginia.
• In Pennsylvania, where very strong winds of up to 63 mph were observed in parts of the state, more than 73,000 customers were without power as of Monday.
• In Maryland, where a high wind warning was in effect through 10pm Sunday ET, more than 34,000 customers have no power.

Between the lines: Flooding has gotten increasingly severe in an era of extreme weather, research shows.

• Human-caused climate change is leading to more frequent and intense extreme precipitation events, according to multiple studies.

In photos: Storm system's effects on U.S., Canada

Go deeper: Polar vortex-tied cold outbreak pushes into U.S. from the Arctic

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

One of Pablo Picasso's earliest Blue Period paintings contains another portrait hidden beneath its surface, specialist imaging technology has revealed.

The big picture: The artwork of the mystery woman was discovered when Courtauld Institute of Art conservators "took x-ray and infrared images of Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto — a portrait depicting Picasso's sculptor friend painted in 1901," per a statement this week from the specialist college at the University of London, U.K.

Driving the news: Conservators were examining the painting ahead of its display at "The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition," which starts Friday at the Sammlung Oskar Reinhart Am Römerholz Museum in Winterthur, Switzerland, when they found the portrait.

• They hope further research into the painting and detailed analysis might help uncover the identity of the woman.
• "She may have been a model, a friend or even a lover posing for one of Picasso's colorful Impressionistic images of Parisian nightlife, or a melancholic woman seated in a bar," the Courtauld said.

Zoom in: "Picasso often reused his canvases at this time because he did not have much money," the Courtauld noted.

• "However, he also embraced the process of painting one work over another, resisting whitewashing old images in favour of beginning a new figure directly on top of an earlier one. It is as if the portrait of de Soto grew out of the figure of the woman below as one style gave way to another."

Flashback: Picasso said in 1957 that x-ray technology might one day reveal a hidden work in one of his earliest paintings, and that came true in 2018 when it revealed hidden artwork beneath another one of his Blue Period paintings.

Go deeper: Researchers find new details in hidden portraits beneath Picasso's paintings