A Green Light to Fire Federal Workers, and Trump’s Problem With Putin

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From the New York Times, it's the headlines.

I'm Tracy Mumford.

Today's Wednesday, July 9th.

Here's what we're covering.

The Supreme Court has given the Trump administration the green light to slash the federal workforce and dismantle government agencies.

It's something the White House has been trying to do since February when President Trump signed an executive order calling for mass layoffs.

But as departments started carrying that out, legal challenges poured in, with lawsuits claiming the president had overstepped, infringing on Congress's power.

This spring, a lower court hit pause on many of the layoffs, ruling Trump did exceed his authority.

But the Supreme Court has now overruled that.

The justices didn't weigh in on whether the specific downsizing plans are within the president's authority, but they are allowing the administration to move forward for now.

Thousands of workers who've been caught in the legal limbo are bracing for what's next.

The promised layoffs have been weighing on them for months, and federal workers have told me how they don't even want to open emails because they're afraid of what they might find inside.

My colleague Eileen Sullivan is a reporter at the Times-Washington Bureau.

Some have already been told that they would be part of future layoffs, and so they are waiting to find out when they will get that notification from the government.

Others only know that there will be future layoffs, and they're waiting to hear if they're going to be part of them.

The cuts, when they do come, will have a wide impact across the country as services that people may not even realize the federal government provides start to be scaled back.

The question of whether the president has the authority to carry out mass layoffs could end up back at the Supreme Court later on, though some of the the groups representing government workers say that will be too late if people have already been fired and agencies have already been gutted, writing, quote, there will be no way to unscramble that egg.

We're not happy with Putin.

I'm not happy with Putin.

I can tell you that much right now, because he's killing a lot of people.

President Trump railed against Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cabinet meeting yesterday, accusing him of being dishonest in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.

We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin for you want to know the truth.

He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.

Trump's comments were some of his harshest towards Putin yet, and they were a remarkable turnaround for the president, who has at times praised Putin while blaming Ukraine for the ongoing fighting there.

Recently, though, Trump has become increasingly frustrated that Putin hasn't been cooperating with Trump's push for a peace deal.

Russia instead has sharply escalated its attacks on Ukraine.

Putin is not

treating human beings right.

He's killing too many people.

So we're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I've approved that.

Last week, the U.S.

had paused some arms transfers to Ukraine over concerns that Pentagon stockpiles might be dwindling.

Trump now says the U.S.

will resume sending weapons.

The Times has been looking at how Truth Social, President Trump's social media platform, is struggling and how its parent company may be trying to pivot.

Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, has seen its stock drop in value ever since it went public last year.

This year, shares are down 43%, and the company has yet to post a profit.

While the president has more than 10 million followers on the site, True Social has had a difficult time attracting more users.

People mostly use it just to see what Trump's saying.

According to one analytics company, 80% of the site's traffic last month went to his posts.

And for advertising dollars, the site's been reliant on a niche corner of the ad market.

Companies catering to hardcore Trump fans and Christian conservatives, often selling Trump t-shirts or other paraphernalia.

With the social media platform not generating much revenue, Trump media's been undergoing a metamorphosis, turning toward crypto ventures.

It's raised over $2 billion to invest in Bitcoin and is partnering on multiple crypto-related investment funds.

The shift is one of the Trump family's many deepening connections to the crypto industry, which has drawn criticism.

coming at the same time as the administration has taken a light touch on regulating crypto.

The White House told the Times there are no conflicts of interest because while the president is the largest shareholder in Trump media, he has no official position at the company and his shares are in a trust managed by his oldest son.

We have some very exciting news to announce that TSA will no longer require travelers to remove their shoes when they go through our security checkpoints.

At airports across the country, if you didn't get the memo yet, you can now keep your shoes on.

Secretary of Homeland Security Christy Noam officially announced the policy change yesterday.

Though some travelers had been reporting for the last few days that they were making it through, laces still tied.

We took a hard look at how TSA does its business, how it does its screening processes, and what we do to make people safe, but also provide some hospitality as well.

Noam said the change is part of a broader re-evaluation of airport security.

The no-shoes policy was put in place 20 years ago for fears of terrorism.

Since then, security technology has significantly evolved.

There are more advanced body and baggage scanners, and some checkpoints now use biometrics to confirm people's identities.

Noam also alluded to more changes that could be coming in the near future, which include a trial program where travelers could pass through checkpoints without ever interacting with officers.

Even that 3.4 ounce limit on liquids that has everyone digging around to get their toothpaste out of their carry-on could eventually be phased out, as Noam said, quote, every rule is being evaluated.

And finally, the amount of money parents are spending on youth sports is skyrocketing, and private equity is increasingly trying to cash in on the lucrative industry.

Tens of millions of American kids play sports.

According to one estimate, the industry generates around $40 billion a year.

That's almost five times the box office hall of all movies in the U.S.

To get a piece of that, investors are buying up sports camps, athletic complexes, and youth leagues.

They're even pouring cash into sports-focused boarding schools.

For example, a private equity-backed fund bought up IMG Academy in Florida, which has more than 150 courts and fields and costs $85,000 a year to attend.

Parents and coaches are raising concerns that the drive to make money off of kids' sports could ramp up the costs for families.

You could be paying for ICE time from a private company instead of from your local community center.

Tournament fees might go up.

That could further accelerate the income disparity that already exists in youth sports.

One study found that teens from wealthier families were almost twice as likely to play high school sports as those from low-income households.

Those are the headlines.

Today on the Daily, how members of the Trump administration helped fuel conspiracy theories around Jeffrey Epstein and why the White House is now trying to shut those theories down.

That's next in the New York Times audio app, or you can listen wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Tracy Mumford.

We'll be back tomorrow.