Wednesday Briefing: Chaos and uncertainty in the U.S.

Plus, no easy remedy for overtourism

View in browser|nytimes.com January 29, 2025 By Natasha Frost Good morning. We're covering confusion in the U.S. after a Trump spending freeze and an update on the hostages in Gaza. Plus: Can overtourism be stopped? The White House budget office said federal funds shouldn't be used to "advance Marxist equity" or "transgenderism." Doug Mills/The New York Times Chaos and uncertainty after Trump freezes spending A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked an order by President Trump to freeze trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans. Separately, Democratic attorneys general in 22 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit against the order, saying Trump had gone far beyond his legal powers. Even before 5 p.m., when the freeze was to take effect, a variety of systems and programs were disrupted, leaving millions unsure if they would lose access to jobs, services and health care. Here's the latest. Trump's order, which has led to confusion and outrage, is part of an effort to remake the government in his image, following sweeping cuts to international aid that he introduced last week and an effort to scuttle any government policy or program that he and his allies might call "woke." His administration says the freeze would let it inspect programs to make sure they don't conflict with its agenda, subjecting them to what my colleague Nicholas Nehamas calls "ideological litmus tests." The White House says government money should not "advance Marxist equity, transgenderism and Green New Deal social engineering." Foreign aid: The Trump administration told organizations in other countries to stop distributing H.I.V. medications purchased with U.S. aid. Humanitarian organizations in Ukraine said they'd been forced to suspend operations that include the delivery of assistance to war veterans and to civilians displaced by the conflict there. What to know: The leaders of global humanitarian organizations said they had "never seen anything as sweeping" as Trump's suspension of aid, said Edward Wong, a diplomatic correspondent. "Many programs," he added, "won't be able to maintain the integrity of their projects if they stop now and then wait to restart their work later, if they are even allowed to." In other news: The Trump administration gave roughly two million federal workers the option to resign but be paid through the end of September. A deliberate effort by the president and his team to "flood the zone" with an unceasing flow of initiatives has knocked his rivals off balance. 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 oversee national intelligence, was subjected to special scrutiny last year while en route to an event organized by a European businessman who was on an F.B.I. watchlist. Family members and supporters at a Tel Aviv demonstration on Saturday calling for the release of hostages still in Gaza. Amit Elkayam for The New York Times Eight hostages slated for release are dead, Israel said Eight of the 26 hostages who are expected to be returned to Israel by Hamas in the next few weeks as part of the Gaza cease-fire deal are dead, according to Israeli officials. That information, which Hamas gave to Israel on Sunday, matched Israeli intelligence findings, according to a government spokesman, David Mencer. He said the list provided by Hamas did not specify by name which hostages had died. Eight families have been told there is a high probability that their relatives will not come back alive, Mencer said. A brother's grief: Speaking to the Israeli Parliament yesterday, Dani Elgarat, whose brother Itzik Elgarat is a hostage, said his family expected to receive his body, based on what they had been told. He said he believed his brother's life could have been saved had a cease-fire deal been reached earlier. From the region: Tens of thousands of Palestinians have reached their homes in northern Gaza, after being kept away for more than a year. Beirut is struggling to figure out how to clean up the vast amounts of rubble left by Israeli airstrikes. Russian envoys arrived in the Syrian capital for the first time since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government last month. Bloodshed in Lebanon and tensions in Gaza have highlighted the fragility of the cease-fires in both places, our Jerusalem bureau chief writes. Anger has been rising in Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, over a rebel assault in the country's east. Samy Ntumba Shambuyi/Associated Press Protesters attacked embassies in Congo Protesters attacked several embassies and a U.N. building yesterday in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital, Kinshasa, looting and setting fires. The French, U.S., Ugandan and Belgian embassies were among those targeted. Anger at foreign allies has been rising in Congo over their inability to stop an assault on the key eastern city of Goma by M23, a militia that the U.N. and the U.S. say is controlled by Rwanda. Rwanda has denied the claim and blamed Congo for failing to maintain order. Context: Western powers have yet to pressure Rwanda to rein in the rebels. Analysts say the country is seeking to occupy Congolese territory and plunder its vast mineral wealth. The latest: The U.S. advised its citizens to leave Congo on commercial flights. MORE TOP NEWS Andrej Cukic/EPA, via Shutterstock Serbia: Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, above, was pushed out by President Aleksandar Vucic in a bid to calm weeks of student-led street protests. India: Dozens of people were feared to have been killed this morning in a stampede at a major Hindu festival in the city of Prayagraj. Canada: A report said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had left the country's elections vulnerable to foreign interference. British politics: Reform U.K. was expected to raise more than $1.25 million at a glitzy London gathering, an extraordinary amount for a party once on the fringe of politics. Britain: A woman was arrested on suspicion of impersonating at least 14 different people to take a citizenship test on their behalf. Russia: Soldiers who fought in Chechnya and Afghanistan came home to silence and stigma. But the Kremlin is priming society to appreciate veterans of the war in Ukraine. Travel: India and China agreed to resume direct flights after nearly five years. Nigeria: A man was extradited to the U.S. on charges that he targeted a 17-year-old in a sextortion case that prosecutors say led to the boy's suicide. France: The country's haute cuisine is officially the best in the world again, according to the judges of a biennial fine-dining competition. Vietnam: Facing the highest traffic death toll in Asia, the government recently instituted steep fines. Some of them exceed many people's monthly earnings. Business & Technology Markets: Tech stocks appeared to stabilize on Wall Street, a day after a Chinese A.I. start-up jolted investors. A.I.: Kevin Roose, our tech columnist, explains why DeepSeek, the Chinese start-up, could change what Silicon Valley believes. China: Claims about DeepSeek's success were seen as a shot in the arm for the country's tech industry and the Chinese public, our columnist Li Yuan writes. SPORTS NEWS Soccer: Neymar has left Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal after a termination of his contract by mutual agreement. Tennis: How the Australian Open became the sport's Silicon Valley. Golf: The Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is off to a strong start to his PGA Tour season. MORNING READ EPA, via Shutterstock Can anything stop a flood of unruly tourists? Fees and taxes aiming at limiting visitors in travel hot spots like Croatia, above, have had mixed results, as competing interests have impeded attempts to stem the tide. "The hard truth is that once overtourism has arrived," one expert said, "it's exceedingly difficult to turn back the clock." Lives lived: François Ponchaud, a French Catholic priest who alerted the world to the atrocities being committed in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge, died at 86. CONVERSATION STARTERS Gary He/McAtlas Global golden arches: A new photography book shows off some of the world's weirdest and most wonderful McDonald's locations. A life's work: "Morgiane," perhaps the oldest existing opera by a Black American, will be staged for the first time. Gulf of America? Google said it would rename the Gulf of Mexico once the new name imposed by President Trump appeared in official U.S. sources. (Mexicans and Cubans found the whole thing annoying, confusing — and even funny.) It's for science: Since the pandemic, funding has poured in for drug trials that deliberately make people ill. All that's needed are brave volunteers. ARTS AND IDEAS Dimitar Dilkoff/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Mona Lisa is getting her own room The enigmatic smile of the world's most famous portrait will soon greet visitors from a new exhibition space at the Louvre. President Emmanuel Macron of France said yesterday that the Mona Lisa would 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 are there to see Leonardo da Vinci's 16-century masterpiece. Macron intends to raise visitor numbers to 12 million a year, and to charge more to those from outside the E.U. to pay for the renovation. We hope you've enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times. RECOMMENDATIONS Ryan Liebe for The New York Times Cook: Sesame noodles with chicken and peanuts are quick, crunchy and spicy. Read: Here are three chilling horror novels to read this month. Prepare: Take these items on a road trip. Heal: Does drinking hot lemon water have health benefits? We asked experts. Play the Spelling Bee. And here are today's Mini Crossword and Wordle. You can find all our puzzles here. That's it for today's briefing. See you tomorrow. — Natasha P.S. Do you have questions about how we cover the Trump administration? Ask us here. Reach Natasha and the team at briefing@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Morning Briefing: Europe Edition from The New York Times. To stop receiving Morning Briefing: Europe Edition, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings. 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