Judge Pauses Mass Firing of Federal Workers

A federal judge has temporarily halted the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) from enforcing directives that led to the mass firing of probationary federal workers, ruling that the terminations were likely illegal. Judge William Alsup emphasized that hiring and firing authority rests with individual agencies, not OPM. The lawsuit, filed by labor unions representing federal employees, alleges that OPM overstepped its authority and falsely cited performance issues in dismissals. While the ruling immediately blocks the Department of Defense from firing additional employees, its broader impact on those already terminated remains uncertain. The case will be revisited in a court hearing on March 13. The Justice Department defended the administration's actions, arguing that the president has the constitutional authority to manage the executive branch workforce. However, Alsup questioned how such a widespread firing could have occurred without direct intervention from OPM.

Sources: The Washington Post

Justice Department Releases Epstein Files, But No New Revelations

Attorney General Pam Bondi released a set of government documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, but the files contained little new information, consisting mostly of records that have been publicly available for years. The batch included flight logs from Epstein’s private plane, a redacted address book, and an evidence list with over 150 items. Despite the Justice Department’s claim that the release was part of a transparency effort, critics—including some conservatives—expressed disappointment over the lack of new disclosures. Bondi has since demanded the FBI turn over all Epstein-related records, raising questions about whether additional files remain undisclosed. The Epstein case, which has long drawn scrutiny due to his connections to powerful figures, remains a focal point of public speculation.

Sources: Associated Press, X

Putin Optimistic About Normalizing Relations with United States

Diplomatic representatives from the U.S. and Russia met in Istanbul for talks on normalizing embassy operations, signaling a potential thaw in relations. President Vladimir Putin expressed optimism about restoring ties, praising President Donald Trump’s “pragmatism.” While the official agenda focused on resolving staffing and visa issues, the meeting coincided with Trump’s broader efforts to broker a Ukraine peace deal. Trump recently spoke with Putin and later met with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, discussing a possible resolution to the war without involving Kyiv. This shift in U.S. diplomacy has raised concerns among Ukraine and its European allies, fearing that an agreement between Moscow and Washington could sideline them. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to sign a rare earth minerals deal with the U.S., which Trump sees as an alternative to military aid and a deterrent against Russian aggression.

Sources: Aljazeera

OpenAI Releases GPT-4.5, A More Natural and Intuitive Model

OpenAI has launched GPT-4.5, marking the final iteration of its chatbot system before transitioning to models capable of "chain-of-thought reasoning." Unlike future versions that will take time to process questions before responding, GPT-4.5 still provides near-instant answers but is designed to feel more natural and intuitive. While the release may not generate as much excitement as GPT-4, OpenAI describes it as a step toward AI systems that can logically solve complex problems. The shift toward reasoning systems is partly driven by the limits of available internet training data. Beginning Thursday, GPT-4.5 will be available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers for $200 per month. Meanwhile, AI competitors like Google, Meta, and DeepSeek are also developing reasoning-based models, though experts caution that these systems still struggle with errors and hallucinations.

Sources: The New York Times

FAA May Replace Verizon with Starlink for $2.4 Billion Air Traffic Contract

The FAA is reportedly considering canceling a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon to modernize air traffic communications and awarding it to SpaceX’s Starlink instead. While details remain unclear, sources suggest that either some of the work could be transferred to Starlink or Verizon could lose the contract entirely. The potential shift has sparked accusations of favoritism, particularly given Elon Musk’s role in the government’s cost-cutting initiatives and his vocal criticism of Verizon’s system on social media. Reports indicate that a SpaceX team has been embedded within the FAA to update aging infrastructure, and some SpaceX employees now have FAA email addresses. However, the contract transfer has allegedly not followed standard procedures, with senior FAA officials resisting approval.

Sources: The Verge