The Evening: Judge blocks Trump’s spending freeze

Also, the U.S. urged its citizens to leave Congo.

View in browser|nytimes.com January 28, 2025 By Matthew Cullen Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Tuesday. Trump's spending freeze Gaza hostage releases Plus, a Louvre renovation Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, today. Doug Mills/The New York Times A judge blocked Trump's spending freeze A federal judge in the District of Columbia temporarily blocked President Trump's order to freeze as much as $3 trillion in federal grants and loans. The White House had said it was reviewing whether the funds were consistent with Trump's priorities. The president's order, which many people first learned about less than 24 hours ago, created widespread confusion. It interrupted the flow of money today to health researchers, programs for early childhood education and state offices for Medicaid, the program that provides health care to millions of low-income Americans. Many nonprofits expressed fear that the pause could stop critical charity work. The move was the president's latest attempt to purge the government of what he calls "woke" ideology. "The use of federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars," read the White Houses memo announcing the freeze. The judge placed a hold on Trump's order in response to a lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward, a liberal organization that argued that the directive violated the First Amendment and a law governing how executive orders are to be rolled out. The freeze came days after the president also put a broad hold on foreign aid, forcing some organizations in Ukraine to suspend their operations and disrupting the distribution of H.I.V. drugs. My colleague Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent, said that leaders of aid organizations told him that they had "never seen anything as sweeping as this suspension of U.S. aid." It's not unusual for presidents to hold back on some federal spending. But Trump has employed a flood-the-zone strategy in part to overwhelm the opposition, and if the freeze becomes permanent for a program that Congress has approved but that the White House does not like, it could set off a potential Supreme Court battle. In other politics news: Caroline Kennedy urged senators to reject her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination for health secretary, calling him unfit and a "predator." Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick to lead national intelligence, was subject to special scrutiny while en route to an event held by a European businessman who was on an F.B.I. watch list. Loyalty to Trump from Kash Patel, his pick to lead the F.B.I., raised doubts over the agency's future independence. Trump ordered a defense system like Israel's "Iron Dome." Experts are skeptical. Congressional Republicans have a lot on their policy wishlist. Here's a guide. Google said it would follow the Trump administration in renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan said that he would not run for re-election. Ask Times journalists anything about our reporting on the new administration. A demonstration in Tel Aviv last week to call for the release of hostages in Gaza. Amit Elkayam for The New York Times Eight hostages slated for release are dead, Israel said Hamas provided Israel with a list this week that appeared to confirm Israeli intelligence assessments: Eight of the 26 hostages that Hamas is expected to release in the coming few weeks are dead. The list did not specify who was alive and who was dead by name. But Israeli officials have already informed eight families of hostages that there is a high probability that their relatives will not return alive. In Gaza, tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning home. With entire neighborhoods destroyed, they are awaiting the delivery of 60,000 temporary housing units and 200,000 tents. Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images DeepSeek could change the way we think about A.I. The stock market, including several major tech companies, recouped some of yesterday's losses. But a Chinese artificial intelligence system called DeepSeek, which had rattled the markets, appears poised to have a lasting impact on the tech world. At the very least, our tech columnist Kevin Roose explains, DeepSeek undercuts the assumption that the Silicon Valley giants who spend the most money will inevitably win the A.I. race. "It seems wise to take seriously the possibility that we are in a new era of A.I. brinkmanship now," Kevin writes. For more: DeepSeek originates from a business that uses A.I. to make bets in the stock market. Kevin spoke with Casey Newton about the firm on the "Hard Fork" podcast. Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, today.  Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/Associated Press The U.S. urged its citizens to leave Congo Hundreds of protesters attacked, looted and set fire to several foreign embassies today in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In response, the U.S. advised all Americans to leave the country. Many people in Congo are angry at the country's foreign allies and what is seen as their inability to stop a Rwandan-backed rebel militia known as M23 from seizing the key Congolese city of Goma. The U.S. and other Western countries have done little to pressure Rwanda to rein in the rebels, whose latest offensive has displaced over 500,000 people this month. More top news New York City: The new Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, said that she was in the city to witness an immigration raid. Economy: Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve will press pause on further interest-rate reductions for the first time since they began lowering borrowing costs in September. Energy: Chevron said it would build natural gas power plants that would be directly connected to data centers for A.I. and other tech services. Syria: Russian envoys arrived in Damascus for the first time since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government last month. Russia: Soldiers who fought in Chechnya and Afghanistan came home to silence and stigma. This time, the Kremlin is priming society to appreciate them. Kentucky: As the risk of extreme flooding increases with climate change, an effort is underway to relocate hundreds of flood survivors to former mountaintop mines. Vietnam: The country's road fatality rates have long been among the highest in Asia. Officials are cracking down on its notoriously freewheeling drivers. Prison: Twenty years ago, the U.S. started reducing its youth prison population. It's been a quiet policy success. TIME TO UNWIND Andrea Mantovani for The New York Times Mona Lisa is getting her own room The Mona Lisa's famous smile will soon greet visitors from a new exhibition space at the Louvre Museum. Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, said today that the masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci will be moved as part of a sweeping renovation of the museum to address overcrowding. Nearly nine million people visit the Louvre every year, and an estimated 80 percent of those crowds are there for the Mona Lisa. Macron said he was aiming to increase visitor tallies to 12 million a year and raise ticket prices for visitors from outside the E.U. to pay for the renovation. Edmond Dédé completed "Morgiane" in 1887.  Alamy Stock Photo Edmond Dédé's magnum opus finally reaches the stage Born nearly 200 years ago in New Orleans, Edmond Dédé was hailed as a musical talent, first in the U.S. and later in France. But as a Black man in the 19th century, he faced prejudice. So the greatest work of his life, a grand opera called "Morgiane," never made it to stage. That will change next month, when the full 545-page opera is set to be performed in Washington, Maryland and New York. "Morgiane," which was nearly lost to history, may be the oldest existing opera by a Black American. Damien Maloney for The New York Times Dinner table topics After Elphaba and Elsa: Idina Menzel, a fan-favorite actor since "Rent," is back on Broadway. This time she's climbing up trees. Brave volunteers: Drug trials that purposely make people vomit, shiver and ache have become a research area of growing interest. Madness of crowds: Can anything stop overtourism? Never too late: At 85, a renowned conductor is finally getting his Philharmonic debut. WHAT TO DO TONIGHT Christopher Testani for The New York Times Cook: These crunchy, cheesy breaded chicken breasts are hard to beat. Watch: Here are the movies that fashion designers watch again and again. Read: "What We Tried to Bury Grows Here" is one of our favorite new historical novels. Listen: These children's songs are worth checking out no matter your age. Style: Take inspiration from this colorful look of the week. Sip: Hot lemon water is a good replacement for sugary drinks, but it's not a cure-all. Compete: Take our quiz to see how well you know these books that became movies. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. ONE LAST THING Régine Mahaux/The White House Melania Trump's power pose Last week, it was her Inauguration Day hat; this time it's her official portrait. Melania Trump, just days into her second stint as first lady, is telegraphing to the world that she will not hew to her predecessors' images. In her portrait, Trump strikes a power pose in black and white — a stark divergence from the bright, smiling and flower-filled images that recent first ladies have chosen. "The energy is less first lady than boss lady," our fashion critic Vanessa Friedman writes. Have an unconventional evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Matthew Sean Kawasaki-Culligan was our photo editor today. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@nytimes.com. Writer: Matthew Cullen Editors: Carole Landry, Whet Moser, Justin Porter, Jonathan Wolfe Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for The Evening from The New York Times. To stop receiving The Evening, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. To opt out of updates and offers sent from The Athletic, submit a request. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018