The Trump administration finalized a policy that would strip job protections from up to 50,000 federal workers, making it easier to remove or discipline them. The policy, finalized on Thursday, expands the number of federal employees who can be fired at will, according to the New York Times.
Previously, only the roughly 4,000 people appointed by the president, known as political appointees, could be fired at will. The new policy allows the administration to include career employees whom the administration considers to also have policy-related roles.
Under the new policy, whistle-blower complaints from these employees would be handled inside their agencies rather than by the independent Office of Special Counsel, as they had previously.
In other news, former US President Donald Trump endorsed Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of a snap election in her country on Sunday, according to BBC World. Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday that Takaichi has "already proven to be a strong, powerful, and wise leader... one that truly loves her country," adding: "She will not let the people of Japan down!" While it is rare for US presidents to publicly back candidates in foreign elections, Trump has done so before, endorsing Argentina's Javier Milei and Hungary's Viktor Orban most recently.
Meanwhile, police in Norway have opened a corruption investigation into the country's former Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland over his alleged links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, BBC World reported. A special Norwegian police unit which is analysing newly released Epstein files in the US said the 75-year-old was suspected of "aggravated corruption." Police said they had already asked the country's foreign ministry to lift his immunity, which he enjoys because of his past role as a senior foreign diplomat. Jagland is also a former head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee and spent 10 years in the role. Jagland's lawyer promised his client's full co-operation with the investigation.
Also, the BBC Technology reported that AI-generated content, or "slop," is transforming social media, sparking a backlash. Théodore described an AI-generated image of two emaciated, impoverished South Asian children with beards, one missing limbs, sitting in the rain with a birthday cake, that went viral on Facebook with nearly one million likes. "It boggled my mind. The absurd AI ma[...]," Théodore said.
In other news, US healthcare needs fixing, but there's no agreement on how to do it, according to BBC World. Jeff King, a former pastor from Lawrence, Kansas, received a $160,000 bill for a heart procedure after his cost-sharing alternative plan said it would not cover the treatment. "It was pretty traumatic," King said. "Who knew that less than a one-day procedure in and out of the hospital could destroy us financially?" King is one of around 100 million people - or about 40% of Americans - who are estimated to have trouble paying medical bills.
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