Linda McMahon hearing; Trump and Putin; CFPB : NPR

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At the moment’s prime tales

Linda McMahon, President Trump’s decide for secretary of training, is the most recent nominee to face a affirmation listening to. At the moment’s listening to may very well be dramatic and strange, because the president has made it clear he plans to dismantle the division she’s been nominated to steer. Here is everything you need to know about McMahon, who led the U.S. Small Enterprise Administration for 2 years beneath Trump’s first time period and constructed World Wrestling Leisure (WWE) right into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise.

• 🎧 If confirmed, McMahon’s first order of enterprise will in all probability be to slim the department down further, NPR’s Jonaki Mehta tells Up First. On Monday, Elon Musk’s DOGE unit, or the Division of Authorities Effectivity, made severe cuts to the Division of Schooling’s impartial analysis arm. Solely an act of Congress may dismantle the company totally.
• ➡️ With an annual finances of $79 billion and over 4,000 staff, the Division of Schooling is without doubt one of the smallest federal companies. Here is a information to what it does — and doesn’t — do.

Dozens of probationary staff on the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau had their jobs terminated this week, in line with the union representing CFPB staff. The CFPB has been in Musk’s crosshairs as one among DOGE’s newest targets. His critics have identified a serious battle of curiosity, as Musk hopes to eliminate an agency that would directly regulate a brand new service he’ll quickly provide on his app X. Linda Yaccarino, X’s CEO, lately introduced the social media firm had struck a cope with Visa to supply a cell funds service referred to as “X Cash Account.”

• ➡️ The CFPB was created as a response to the 2008 monetary disaster. Here is what it does.
• ➡️ Trump employed Musk as a “particular authorities worker,” a designation given to individuals who be a part of the federal government for a brief time frame sometimes to offer specialised experience. Here is what you should know about SGEs.
• ➡️ DOGE’s central tenet is to chop authorities spending. However there’s been little transparency and a few exaggeration surrounding its claims of saving a number of billion {dollars} in lower than a month, according to an NPR analysis of a number of public knowledge sources.

Trump says he’ll meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, after holding separate phone calls yesterday with the Russian chief and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I feel we’re on the best way to getting peace,” Trump advised reporters within the Oval Workplace.

• 🎧 Trump and Putin are “in sync,” NPR’s Russia correspondent Charles Maynes says. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated after the telephone name that each leaders agreed it was time for the two countries to work together. Maynes says there is a “sense of celebration” in Russia, and the markets went up this morning. In the meantime, he says yesterday was “clearly not a very good day” for Ukraine. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth advised NATO allies he believed it was unrealistic for Ukraine to regain its prewar borders and dominated out NATO membership for the nation.

Deep dive

A court docket discovered that President Trump’s administration had not complied with an earlier court docket order. Specialists fear in regards to the potential of a constitutional disaster.

Al Drago/Getty Photos

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Al Drago/Getty Photos

President Trump has signed dozens of govt orders in lower than a month in workplace, and courts at the moment are pushing again. One of many central roles of U.S. federal courts is to overview the chief department’s implementation of federal regulation. Govt department staff are anticipated to adjust to court docket orders and current authorized roles — however that is largely counting on good religion and custom, in line with UCLA regulation professor Blake Emerson. What occurs if the president ignores these court docket orders? Several legal experts break it down:

• ⚖️ Courts can drive compliance by means of fines, sanctions, discovering somebody in contempt and even jail time. Some consultants, like retired federal decide Nancy Gertner, view these choices as empty threats.
• ⚖️ The U.S. Marshals Service — which is a part of the Division of Justice — may implement a decide’s order, Gertner added. However the president may direct the Justice Division to not comply.
• ⚖️ Courts in the end have few methods to punish a president for ignoring their rulings, however Congress nonetheless exists to intervene, in line with Kristin Hickman, a professor of administrative regulation on the College of Minnesota. Nevertheless, opposition is unlikely since Republicans management the Home and Senate.

Image present

SNL’s head make-up & hair designer Louie Zakarian in New York, on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025.

Picture by Marco Postigo Storel

Marco Storel/for NPR

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Marco Storel/for NPR

Louie Zakarian has earned 10 Emmys and 10 Hollywood Make-up Artist Hair and Stylist Guild Awards all through his three a long time at Saturday Night time Stay. As head of SNL’s make-up division, he and his staff of about 18 designers assist carry writers’ and solid members’ wild concepts to life. Zakarian figures he is made “tens of 1000’s of bald caps” over the course of his profession.

📷 Have a look inside Zakarian’s make-up lab and learn about the method behind the madness that created Kyle Mooney’s Child Yoda, Will Ferrell’s satan and extra.

3 issues to know earlier than you go

An infrared picture of Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto, revealing one other portrait beneath.

The Courtauld Institute of Artwork/The Courtauld Institute of Artwork

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The Courtauld Institute of Artwork/The Courtauld Institute of Artwork

1. A hidden portray has been revealed under one of the earliest pieces from Pablo Picasso’s iconic Blue Interval, due to superior X-ray and infrared imaging know-how.
2. Retailers like Dealer Joe’s and Kroger have begun limiting the amount of eggs customers can purchase as costs proceed to climb.
3. Here is Johnny! The Colorado lodge that impressed The Shining is being transformed into a museum for horror buffs. (through Colorado Public Radio)

This article was edited by Obed Manuel.