Stunned U.S.A.I.D. Workers Return to Clean Out Their Desks Democrats said a review mandated by executive order was “not a serious effort or attempt at reform.”

With Trump, Alliances Come With Strings Attached President Trump has little use for America’s traditional alliances, and tends to evaluate U.S. relationships according to whether countries are contributing economically to the United States.

Boris Spassky, Chess Champion Who Lost ‘Match of the Century,’ Dies at 88 When Mr. Spassky, a Russian, played Bobby Fischer, an American, in Iceland at the height of the Cold War, the media attention reduced them to pawns in a wider drama.

Former L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley Appeals Her Dismissal The appeal came less than a week after Mayor Karen Bass removed the chief from her job. She blamed her for a lack of preparation as a blaze destroyed the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

U.S. Terminates Funding for Polio, H.I.V., Malaria and Nutrition Programs Around the World Here are some of the 5,800 contracts the Trump administration formally canceled this week in a wave of terse emails.

Number of Trans Troops Far Lower Than Estimated, Pentagon Figures Show The Defense Department said 4,240 service members, or about 0.2 percent of those in uniform, have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Previous estimates had put the number at triple that figure.

‘Epstein Files’ Release, Hyped by Pam Bondi, Falls Short of Expectations The release of flight logs and Jeffrey Epstein’s contact list by the attorney general was met with criticism from those who had expected the documents to reveal new information.

Mexico Releases Cartel Operatives, Including Rafael Caro Quintero, Into U.S. Custody The handover of so many significant cartel figures was one of the most important efforts by Mexico in the modern history of the drug war to send traffickers to face charges in U.S. courts.

Trump’s Third-Term Talk Faces Pushback From a Democratic Congressman Representative Dan Goldman plans a resolution to reinforce the Constitution’s two-term limit.

Trump Team Tightens Control Over Government Lawyers Who Might Say ‘No’ At the Justice Department and the Pentagon, the administration is curtailing the ability of lawyers to raise internal objections to the president’s use of power.

Inside the Rush to Respond to Musk’s ‘What Did You Do Last Week?’ Email Behind the scenes, cabinet secretaries compared notes as they tried to figure out how to respond to a directive from President Trump’s most powerful adviser without angering the president.

Starmer Offers Trump a Plea and a Promise Over Ukraine President Trump, who is hosting Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, was expected to have some difficult conversations about the future of Ukraine.

Defense Secretary Hegseth Enters the Sept. 11 Case Fray The new Pentagon chief got a look at Guantánamo Bay’s most infamous inmate in his recent visit to the wartime prison.

U.S. Canceled Work to Contain a Serious Ebola Outbreak The contracts financed Ebola screening at airports and protective gear for health workers, among other measures. Work had been held up for weeks, contrary to Elon Musk’s claim on Wednesday.

OpenAI Unveils A.I. Technology for ‘Natural Conversation’ The new technology, called GPT-4.5, signifies the end of an era for OpenAI.

I Loved ‘Anora’ but I Still Hope It Loses at the Oscars “Anora” is neither pro-Russian nor anti-Russian. But its Oscar nominations have been portrayed as a national victory in Russia.

Meet the Trans Troops the Trump Administration Is Barring Officers and enlisted. Combat veterans and recent recruits. Transgender service members say their military experience has looked nothing like the portrayal of them in the political arena.

A Loan-Scorned Socialite Reported Her Warhol Stolen. A Tempest Ensued. It was not a theft, Hamptons police ruled, but acrimony erupted after a lender decided it could not arrange a loan, but that a painting used as collateral would still need to be sold to cover its costs.

Israel’s Military Lays Out Its Oct. 7 Hamas Attack Failures The highly anticipated public findings, the first from its internal inquiries into the devastating Hamas-led attack, do not apportion individual responsibility, though officials said that may come later.

Trump Says Canada and Mexico Tariffs Will Start March 4, Plus an Increase on China The president also said he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on China as he tries to force other countries to take more action on drug shipments.